An Alternate Alien Fantasy Adventure: RWBY
by Sir-Spoder
Summary: The Torchwick crime family runs wild, with Roman at the head of the operation. Team RWBY must learn to work together to uncover Roman's secret Ability and learn how he has never been caught before. It is said that his Ability makes Roman invincible, and anybody who learns of it would die shortly after.
1. Red Rider vs Roman

**AN: This is a Rewrite that is technically not a "rewrite" because this isn't a "fix-it" type fic. My main goal is to make the characters and story interesting, and if that involves some canon deviation then so be it.**

**A couple canon changes of note: there are no Aura/Semblance in this rewrite universe. Instead superpowers are tied to specific weapons. Each weapon is crafted from Dust cores/batteries and there is a limit to how much Dust a weapon can carry. Grimm are not monsters, instead they are a type of virus that can infect and power up any living being, including human/Faunus.**

* * *

_Once upon a time, there was a dear young girl, riding red radiantly down to where the trees would often sing. The songs of the red echoed from ear to ear, telling anyone willing to listen of the ghost who would hunt the wolves of these woods._

_Some called this ghost a guardian angel, others deemed it a demon. But remember those who hath passed on tragically as crimson painted the stones, taken by the beasts of the night. Remember those who traveled these roads as traders, merchants or kings. Remember the daughters who would ride into Vale to mourn the Grimmed flesh and blood spilled wastefully._

_Remember the Red Riding Ghost of the woods who kept watch over those who would travel, to stop the blood spilling wastefully._

(Excerpts from the Book of Spring's Chronicles)

* * *

"Please, just… just give me a couple more days… I'll pay you back, I promise," the old shopkeeper begged. Right before being slapped right across his cheek.

These goons had no respect for the elderly. Or anybody else for that matter. They liked to dress proper, in their fancy black suits and crimson ties, but everybody who lived around these neighborhoods knew well that they were nothing but wolves. The Seasons know they tried to hide it, but their true nature will eventually come out, they always do.

"What goes around comes around," said one of the goons as he pulled out an automatic rifle, "now, we're going to do this the easy way, or the hard way."

"_Come now my friend," _a devilish voice echoed from the entrance of the shop, "_that's no way to treat an acquaintance to the family."_

And emerging from the shadows came this slender confident figure striding through with a cigar in his mouth, lighting up beneath the shade of his bowler hat. His white coat was bright as diamonds, and he felt untouchable, unbreakable, shining in the darkness that hid his face away beneath the fiery colored hair. His green eyes glowed with greed, terror, trembling the shopkeeper to the point of near paralysis.

"You… you… you're supposed to be dead!" The shopkeeper stammered, "It was in the news!"

Roman smirked beneath the spark of the cigar:

"People like to say a lot of things, old friend. What they often forget, or don't realize is that I, Roman Torchwick – am invincible. I have never been caught, and I intend to keep it that way. So I ask again, are you going to pay what you owe the family, or do we have to get physical here? I'd prefer if I didn't have to clean up the bits."

"Okay, okay, fine," the shopkeeper trembled, "there's a bunch of cash in the back. I keep it in a safe. The combination is five, three…"

"Shhhhhh," Roman put a finger over his lips, interrupting the old man, "don't try to stall us with money, Airon. How long have you been here in the business? Ten, twenty years?"

"Twenty three years, three months and fifteen days," said Airon.

"Then you know full well that money means nothing to me," Roman flicked his unfinished cigar to the side, "the Torchwick family deals in favors. You want to know why?" He smirked, "because we're a family."

"I can't give you any more of my guns, Roman. The Huntsmen are hot on my trails for all those times I let you and your men skip out on the background checks. They're closing in on me."

A loud sharp clanking noise echoed in the back of the shop, cutting their conversation off short. Some of the rifles in the corner must have been knocked over. Somebody was in the shop with them, Roman thought to himself, unsure of why or how they got here despite the fact his men cleared everybody out the moment they arrived.

The grimace on Roman's brows began to show, he wasn't exactly worried. His Ability was still unbeatable, no one had ever been able to catch him before. But better safe than sorry he always said. He wasn't about to let his record be tainted by a careless mistake.

"You," he whistled to one of his goons, "go check to see what it is."

Something wasn't right about the sound they heard. There was no additional noise of whoever it was scrambling on their feet and running away. Roman couldn't pick up the sound of their breath either. Maybe they were breathing very quietly or they were dead. Both of which were unlikely.

Instead of seeing some poor unfortunate sod being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the goon ran into a small figure covered in a red cloak. The figure looked like a child, or maybe a really short teen. It was difficult to make out their face, obscured by the silent cloth of the crimson shadow. There was a certain enigmatic aura coming from the way they were standing completely still, enough to put the goon on edge and had his finger on his pistol's trigger.

"Whoever you are, come on out now," the goon cried out, "come out and put your hands in the air."

Silence. No answer.

The goon looked back to Roman, feeling a bit more anxious now. But the boss man's glare did not waver. Continuously glimmering with his command.

"I said come out!" Cried the goon, "Are you deaf?"

Still no answer.

"I swear," he walked over in a huff, "if you're not deaf, I'll make sure you'll never hear again."

With one swift motion, the man yanked off the cloak covering the figure.

Only to reveal that this wasn't actually a person.

It was a potted plant, growing at an extraordinary rate, while simultaneously shining with a radiant golden glow and a beaming green light sparkling at the root. Dust – they were Dust. There was nobody back here this whole time. The growing plant was the thing that knocked the rifles off their stands. But why?

"What d'you find, son?" Roman called out from afar.

"Nobody here, boss," he answered, "just a weird plant for some reason."

"What? Let me see."

Little did they know – on the building right across the shop was a lone sniper, waiting for the opportune moment to take her shot. The moment when her trap would be set in motion.

"Jackpot!" She whispered under her breath.

"Hmm?"

A shot was fired.

Its sound echoed so loud and glorious, like the bells of the church ringing for time of worship, or the flapping of the wings of eagles flying towards their prey, snatching it before it even noticed. The echo of the metal, the soaring wind, the crushing of the skull, and the crimson paint. The phantom struck once more, and she had hit her mark perfectly.

"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" Roman shouted, "Sniper on the roof, ten o'clock!"

But it was already too late.

Like a brief gust of the wind, a silent breath of the leaves, or a crimson whisper of a phantom, the bullets swiftly found their targets during the chaos of the trap. It happened so fast, there was barely any time to react. Roman quickly realized the horrible truth.

He was the only one alive.

It was such a rudimentary trap, a mere diversion. Just a bit of Water and Earth Dust combined to make the plant grow at an extraordinary rate, up to a whopping twenty feet in mere seconds, knocking over the other guns and Dust cases on the above shelves in the process. Just a split second of distraction made all the difference in the world.

The mobster quickly scrambled to his feet, grabbing his cane and bolted right out the entrance of the shop. Leaving his dead men in a bloody mess behind, drowning in the red.

But Ruby wasn't about to let this man get away.

The sniper on the roof was she, the one and only Ruby Rose. Sixteen year old protégé of the legendary Huntsman Qrow Branwen. Wielder of one of the deadliest weapons ever crafted, Crescent Rose, a high functioning sniper scythe combination repurposed from what used to be an anti-material rifle, now with Dust compartments and extra upgrades that allowed rotating blades at high enough speed for it to spin around; almost like a wheel on a motorcycle.

And that was the name of the game for Ruby – speed. The deadly rotating blade that was originally meant to act as a buzz saw of sort was now mainly used as a makeshift vehicle of sort, allowing her to travel at breakneck speeds. Even up and down walls if she so wished. Controlling the weapon's Ability was a challenge, one she had not exactly mastered.

But that did not matter, for tonight, Ruby was determined to catch the wanted criminal known as Roman Torchwick, head of the Torchwick crime family. Not much was known about this mysterious gangster other than the fact that he was exceptionally slippery.

Ruby did not care much of the details, however. She was turning seventeen next month which meant she would be eligible to apply to go to Beacon Academy, one of the most prestigious Huntsmen schools in the world. Catching this lowlife mob boss would look extremely good on her application.

Now, Ruby could've just taken the shot here from the roof where she stood, and Roman would've been dead just like that. But she knew full well that Torchwick had fail-safes in precisely situations such as this, back up plans that would no doubt allow his operations and gang to continue flourishing even with him six feet under. There would be no doubt a chain of command that will persist as if nothing had happened.

In order to take him down for good, Ruby needed to bring him in.

So she packed her bullets and binoculars, secured her backpack, and got onto her Crescent Rose. She was running short on Dust, so she had hoped to call it a day after riding down this building. Apprehending Roman should be easy now that all his goons were dead.

The rotating blade spun furiously, it was almost fascinating to watch as it carved a straight path down the solid brick wall of the building with sparks of steel flying everywhere as she rode. The exhilarating feeling of traveling vertically downwards at that speed will never fail to get a kick out of Ruby. This was what she lived for.

Ruby was certain that Roman had already seen her coming from a mile away, but it did not matter now. She got him exactly where she wanted. She might as well pull up with a whole parade for all the difference it would make.

"Prepare yourself, evil doers!" Ruby shouted as she gracefully jumped off of Crescent Rose, posing with the gigantic weapon held up behind her back, "For it is I, the courageous and righteous Red Rider, hero of Metroland!"

"So…" Roman clenched his fist, "you are the brat who murdered all my men. You're going to pay for what you did, you hear? I refuse to be undone by a child in her little superhero costume playing make-believe."

"Oh, believe it, Torchwick," Ruby smirked. "I already called the Vale Police Department, they already had a team dispatched to this location as we speak, accompanied by a professional Huntsman to boot."

"Heh, the VPD are a bunch of incompetent buffoons," Roman sneered, still with a hint of desperation in his eyes. "I have never been caught by any of those idiots before, and I'm not about to start now. You are meddling with things you don't understand."

Roman raised his cane, and to Ruby's surprise, a reticle rose from the tip of the base, demonstrating to her that it was clearly modified to be a rifle of some kind. She was not afraid however, as she was confident in her ability to react against his projectiles, not to mention the difference in raw power between the two weapons were night and day.

"I'm giving you a chance to walk away right now, Little Red," said Roman, "and I'll forget ever seeing you tonight. You don't want to mess with the Torchwick family. I am invincible. No matter how strong you think your Ability is, I guarantee you, my Ability will outclass it."

"Let's bet on it then," said Ruby, readying her scythe, "I can travel with my weapon up to where you are and cut you up into pieces in less than a blink of an eye, no more than a few seconds. I'll turn you into ribbons."

"Perhaps…"

Then from the corner of his mouth emerged a confident smile, catching Ruby off guard. The green glint of his powerful eyes came back, as the desperation began to fade.

"You can try to cut me up, Red. But then you won't have enough time to save poor old Airon back there. I'm a very cautious man you see. All those men you killed? I made every one of them swallow a little time bomb in the case any one of their hearts happen to stop."

"WHAT?" Ruby cried, "You monster!"

"The clock's been ticking for a while now," Roman laughed. "And I'd say you have about less than ten seconds to get the shopkeeper out of the debris and into a safe distance. So what's it going to be, hero?"

"Dammit!"

Without a second thought, Ruby got on her Crescent Rose and put it on max speed, burning through the rest of her Dust reserves. She knew that she had just barely enough time to get the old man away from the blast zone, that meant Roman would be long gone by the time either of them gathered their bearings and got to their feet.

"So long, Little Red," Roman waved his hand as he disappeared into the night, "can't say it's been nice meeting ya, but just know that if you come after me again, you'll know the true power of my invincibility, and it'll be the last thing you'll ever see."

From behind the cashier counter, the old shopkeeper Airon knelt on the floor, with his hands over his head, still trembling from the gunshots that decimated his entire store. Ruby was able to swoop in quickly, grab him by the arm, and drag him away with her as she was being pulled by the spinning wheel of Crescent Rose.

She took a quick glance at the dead bodies littered around the shop, no more than a split second, and she could already see the Fire Dust igniting from the bombs they swallowed, swelling up their flesh like a balloon and inflating as the explosion quickly engulfed the entire gun store in its devilish hellfire.

"GET DOWN!" Ruby shouted, shielding the old man from the forceful blast as they barely got outside the reach of the danger zone.

Thankfully this part of the street was not thick in traffic at all, especially at this late hour, so there was no real casualty from any random passerby. The old man Airon did suffer a few light bruises from the crumbling debris though. Nothing a good night sleep couldn't fix, thankfully.

What was much more concerning for Ruby, however, was the distant siren of police vehicles as the red lights slowly turned from the far corner of the street, getting closer and closer by the minute. The gun store was blown to smithereens, the streets and the walls were carved with traces of a scythe blade, and the biggest mob boss of the city managed to get away, leaving behind nothing but corpses of his former goons, none of whom could be interrogated for obvious reasons.

"I'm in so much trouble, aren't I?" Ruby laughed nervously.

* * *

Behind bars, Ruby had only dreamed of this moment. In her pursuit to make her application look much nicer, she ended up spilling the whole bottle of ink on the paper, staining the entire thing.

Her father did not look happy at all talking to the chief of police. Why would he be? His daughter was in jail for crying out loud. The strange thing about it was that Ruby was a lot less concerned about how much he was going to scold her and more about whether he was going to tattle to her Uncle Qrow. She didn't want her uncle to think she was less cool by being a delinquent.

That and she was worried about the potted plant, too. Thank the Seasons for Mistralian Leather; with her hood covering the plant, the explosion prevented it from being damaged too severely. The root was still intact but the radiation from the Earth Dust was starting to wear off, and now it was withering away like an ancient oak. This was her sister's plant, too, the one she told Ruby to look after while she was gone. With that revelation Ruby began brewing up believable lies for when her sister gets back. Maybe a truck ran over it or a stray cat was gnawing away at the roots when she wasn't looking, or even a homeless man, hobos do love to gnaw. Somebody should get them some dental care.

Her father furiously stormed over to Ruby's cell as she was still thinking up of excuses for the plant, banging his fist against the bars to startle her out of her thoughts.

"What were you thinking?" He grunted, biting on his own fingers, "Do you have any idea… do you even… what were you… burn? Shop? ARGH!"

"I know this looks bad, but I swear, dad," she continued to laugh nervously, "there's a perfectly good explanation for all this. I wasn't the one who burned down that shop, you can ask the shopkeeper Airon himself. He helped me set up this trap, he was in on the plan. I was '_this' _close to catching Roman Torchwick. THE Godfather Torchwick."

"Ha, you expect me to believe this wild story? Roman is dead," her father smirked.

"You have got to stop reading the funny papers, dad. All the serious news sources are moving to digital nowadays."

"Do they have the daily crossword puzzles?"

"Uh oh."

"Thought so."

"Bah, I'm serious, dad," Ruby cried out, "I've been tailing this guy for weeks. I even have video footage. Roman Torwick faked his own death, I can prove it."

Her father clenched his fist as he let fumes escape out of his nose and his ears. He clearly wanted to object, his gut and muscle memory dictated him so. Fortunately, his gut and his brain were two different things. Tense as it was, he swiftly banged his head hard against the metal bars – breathing a long sigh of defeat. The anger subsided quickly, but for him it lasted for a whole hundred years. Those anger management class must've worked wonders on him, Ruby thought. He really didn't want to lose his 50 day anger free sticker.

"I worry for you, you know?" He said, looking down. "If anything were to happen to you… I don't know what I would do with myself."

Ruby stood up, now more relaxed and calm, placing her warm hands onto her father's. She would've hugged him so tightly if it wasn't for the metal bars separating the two of them.

"I have two of the strongest men in the world to train me," Ruby smiled, "I know I'll always be fine because I know you'll always be here with me," she said, pointing towards her heart.

Her father sighed once more, now as a sign of relief:

"I love you, Ruby."

"Love you, too, dad."

"Um… Mister Xiao Long," the police chief waved from afar, "a minute of your time, please?"

"Be right there," he waved back to them. "I'll go over there and finish filing out the bail, be back in a bit."

"Hurry, don't know if I can stay in here any longer," Ruby whispered, "Yang's plant is dying, and the sleeping drunk old man in the corner is really freaking me out."

"Heh, you hang around your uncle all day, every day. I think you'll be fine," Mister Xiao Long winked before giving a quick peck on her forehead. It was amazing how fast he skedaddled off to the police chief. This must've been his punishment for Ruby.

It shouldn't take too long, though. It wasn't like this jail cell was hell on earth or anything. Tonight was a tamer night than usual it seemed, only one drunk old man arrested for partying too hard if Ruby had to assume. The smell of booze was strangely disappearing from the cell however, just as Ruby was looking around the facility, scanning the four walls covering the two of them.

And then… the old man was up and awake.

Ruby nearly jumped out from where she sat at the sight of the drunk old man sitting straight up. He wasn't sloppily passed out anymore despite his gruff exterior. There the grey bushy beard covering his face and the tattered leather cloth he covered himself with, now seemingly coming together to form a much cleaner sober man as he sat straight up from his slouching slumber.

His eyes – they glinted of green, mysterious, hiding away his true nature.

Ruby stood back, readying herself in a defensive position, just in case he was going to pounce at her. He did not look hostile, however. It was hard to tell from his posture and position. You could never be too safe, though.

"You… you have…" the old man spoke out in a surprisingly light voice, catching Ruby off guard and tensing herself up even further. He continued after a brief pause: "you have… something in your eyes."

"What?" Ruby raised her hand to her face, and sure enough, he was right, "Oh dang, I've been staying up for about two days now. I'll be taking a long nap after all this is over."

"That nap will have to wait I'm afraid," said the old man. "There are pressing matters to attend to."

"What do you mean?"

"Is it true?" He looked at her with a stone cold determined pair of eyes, "Is Roman… really alive?"

Ruby rested a bit easier from her tensed pose, knowing the old man might not be out to get her as he first looked.

She nodded her head:

"It's true. I saw him with my own eyes. I've been tailing him for a long time, I have countless hours of footage to prove it. Once I take them to the press, it'll only be a matter of time before he is flushed out of his hiding place."

"And you are positive that it is him? Not some kind of double, or lookalike? Or maybe…" the old man paused, stroking his silver beard, "a weapon's Ability?"

"Heh, come on," Ruby smirked, "you and I both know those kinds of weapons are not possible with current technology. Besides, even if he were a double, the footage still shows behaviors that are just too close to the original for him to be fake. I've built a psychological profile of him, you see. I took a whole course of it back at Signal Academy."

"Torchwick is a slippery man, you know? Legend has it, the man has never been caught in his entire life. Not even his coworker, his subordinates, or even his own family knows for sure where he is at all times."

"Well, legends say a lot of things, and not all of them are true."

"Regardless, he is a cautious man," the old man stared straight into Ruby's gaze. "Not only that, he is also a brilliant chess master. Always allowing his opponent to think he is only one step ahead of them when in fact he is ten steps above and beyond. You were his opponent tonight, and he has treated you no differently from any of his other enemies, Red Rider."

Ruby spun her head as a small blush appeared on her cheeks, almost as if ashamed of her little superhero name she so brazenly shouted out earlier on in the night.

"How did you know… ahem… my name?"

The old man chuckled:

"Despite how I look, I am also what the kids would call… a comic book reader."

"It was just the latest issue, I swear. Just picked it up because I was curious is all."

"Latest issue for an 80 year old character? Ha!"

Ruby crossed her arms as her cheeks got redder:

"Alright fine, you got me. I've been dressing up as the Red Rider when I was a little kid, happy? The hood was just too cool not to wear."

"I think you bear more a striking resemblance to the Red Riding Ghost than you do the gentleman in the graphic novel," the old man smiled.

"No way, that's just some kid's fairy tale. And that's not cool at all."

"You do have to admit, a single Red figure, killing a pack of wolves in the middle of the dead silent forest of the night? I don't know if I believe in fate, but it's like you took the pages right out of those old scriptures, word for word."

"Whatever, old man, you wouldn't understand."

The old man's smile suddenly faded, just as he began leaning forward.

"Try me then," he said.

"What?"

"Try me. I want to understand – why did you do it?"

"Do what now? You mean kill all those gangsters? I mean, in my defense those were some horrible men who were going to get the death penalty anyway and…"

"No, not that," he cut her off, "why did you find Torchwick?"

And that caught Ruby slightly off guard. The old man continued, staring at her with great concentration:

"You got nothing to lose if you had just walked away or never pursued him in the first place. Let the more experienced Huntsmen or the police handle it. So why did you do it?"

Ruby fell silent briefly, gathering her thoughts as well as a deep breath. It seemed like some kind of tense interrogation at first, but once she searched deep in her heart to find herself, it all came to her more naturally than breathing, than walking.

"You really want to know the truth?" She asked, as the old man nodded. Ruby continued: "Well… the truth is… I want to be a hero."

The old man raised an eyebrow, but allowed her to explain:

"Not for the glory, fame or because of some kind of selfish or self-righteous sense of morality. I… I don't really know. Both my dad and my uncle are heroes. And my sister? Heh… she's a hero, too. In my eyes anyway. But for me… I never had to take up any kind of responsibility. Not as they have. I'm only a few months younger than my sister, but because I was born at the end of the year, I was often treated as if I was a full year younger. She took up responsibility so I wouldn't have to. I guess you can call it my sense of duty… or whatever. But at the end of the day… I want to do it – because it's right."

And thus, to Ruby's utmost surprise – the old man smiled.

Not only did he smile, he stood up from where he sat, as if he hadn't been drunk the entire night. Swiftly in one direct motion to tear off his silver beard, revealing a young man's face. The face was familiar, too familiar, definitely someone she had seen on the news. Ruby just couldn't quite place her finger on it.

The man thus then asked her one final question:

"Do you want a chance to show the world what's right?"

The sun was coming up, revealing a bright green shine in the old man's emerald eyes.

"I can give you that chance," he said. "Come to the department of education office tomorrow, the one near the airship field. Go there and put in your application for Beacon Academy. I'll tell the receptionist that you're coming. Do it before noon… and I'll personally escort you to my school."

Ruby sat there widening her eyes, frozen with her jaw on the ground. At this point dropping the potted plant wouldn't even mean anything to her, because it was already dropped on the floor, shattered into pieces.

She didn't even have time to react to the mess she made, or time to clean them up, or even time to look back up and thank the man, for she had now finally remembered who he was. It was just too late.

Because Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy, was already gone by the time the sun was up. Left without a single trace, as if everything that had happened was just a dream.

Far in the distance, outside the police department, in a mirror shop from afar, stood a young girl with beautiful snow white hair, posing, admiring her own reflection. Glaring with great determination and desire to kill the Red Rider.

To be continued…


	2. Ruby vs Weiss

_Mirror, mirror, tell me something,_

_Tell me who's the loneliest loner?_

_Tell me who's the mightiest of might?_

_Tell me who's the heartfullest of hearts?_

_Tell me who's the villainous villain?_

_Winter, Winter, call out my name,_

_Call those who hath burned the freezing cold._

_Call those who would tell the tale of cold._

_Call those who hath learned refuge from cold._

_Call those who would keep the dead from cold._

(Excerpts from the Poetic Scriptures of Old Winter.)

* * *

"This will be a piece of cake?" Ruby laughed to herself, raising both arms in the air. "I'M GONNA BE A HUNTRESS!"

With the universe finally letting her catch a break, the girl happily hopped down the sidewalk after downing several tall cups of coffee. Never in her life would she predict to be this happy turning in a few pieces of paper in some boring office down the street. It all felt so incredibly simple, too. It was ten thirty in the morning, so she still had about an hour and a half left to turn these in.

The bail paperwork at the police station took longer than expected. But walking down the street shouldn't take too long. The traffic was sparse, peculiar for back-to-school season, but no reason for Ruby to complain.

At least, that was what she thought.

Because the strangest thing kept happening to her as she passed this one mirror shop by the large intersection. The temperature dropped to a bizarre degree despite it being early Autumn. The air was still warm from Summer, and yet Ruby could feel Winter's fingers wrapping around her neck, letting out cold breeze as she breathed.

But that was the least of her concern, the most terrifying thing by far was the ghostly sight of a gorgeous snow haired princess glaring intensely at Ruby in the reflection of one of the mirrors in the shop. But when Ruby spun her head around to the street where she was supposed to be standing, there was nobody there.

"I must be imagining things," Ruby rubbed her eyes.

Turning around, however, and she was met with the furious gaze of that very same snow haired princess, she was not in the mirror however, instead standing right in front of Ruby.

The girl wore an elegant bright blue crystal-colored jacket with a red collar, on her shoulders were a pair of golden epaulets signaling a distinct disciplined posture only reserved for certain people with particular status. Was she from the military? No, Ruby thought. This snow white outfit and high heels were familiar. Another person she definitely had seen on the news before. But alas, two whole days without sleep will do things to your brain, none of it were pleasant.

But where did she come from? Ruby wondered. She was sure she was not _that_ exhausted. It was as if the girl had just materialized out of thin air.

"You there," the girl pointed at Ruby. "What's your name?"

"Huh? Oh… um… it's Rose – Ruby Rose."

"Hmm…" the elegant princess extended her hand for Ruby to shake, despite maintaining her cold steely eyes, "my name is Weiss Schnee. Pleasure."

"Oh, um… pleasure's all mine," Ruby shook her hand. "Hey, wait a minute. I remember you. Aren't you that heiress on TV? You were on the Daimon Talk Show. That's it. Now I remember you."

"Yes, it was quite a long time ago. I'm surprised you remember."

"I would've recognized you right away if my brain isn't beaten up and juiced with twenty five cups of coffee. Or was it thirty? Whatever, it's so nice to meet you here, I'm honored," Ruby frantically continued to shake her hand, "can I have your autograph?"

"Right, and I suppose you want me to throw in a little Dust discount as well while I'm at it. Is that what you want?"

"Um… yes?" Ruby wasn't sure if she was serious. "Your dad runs the SDC doesn't he? I'm sure you can put in the good word for me. I want to celebrate by upgrading my weapon. I'm going to be a huntress, you see."

"I do see," Weiss yanked off her hand from Ruby. "You've been yelling that for the whole street to hear."

"Oops… ha-ha."

"I have to ask, though," Weiss's brow began to grimace, "what Academy are you applying to?"

"Oh, Beacon of course. It's the best one there is."

"Right, and how did you manage to get in? I hear it's very competitive this time of year."

"Oh, that. That's private business I'm afraid," Ruby smiled. "But… if you must know, I got… let's say a special pass from the headmaster himself for my heroic deeds of hunting down a heinous villain."

"I see you like to boast with no shame."

"I do, yeah. Because I deserve it. I caught one of the biggest crime lords in all of Vale after all. Godfather Roman Torchwick, the one and only."

"Funny," Weiss scratched her chin, "last I heard, Roman Torchwick got away, and is now at large again."

That struck a nerve with Ruby like a lightning bolt, making her realize that this whole bragging business had really come back to bite her in the rear. But it also rose in her some suspicion of this Weiss girl.

"How did you know that?" Ruby asked. "That information isn't available for the public, yet."

"So you admit you were lying?"

"Well… if you look at it from certain points of view…"

"You admit," Weiss cut her off, "that he got away?"

"Well… I mean… people have legs right?"

"You admit then, that YOU let him get away?"

"Excuse me? How did you…"

"You are not so bright, are you?" Weiss sneered, with a hidden silent rage. "You think you are the only one in this entire city who has enough brain cells to theorize that maybe, just maybe Roman Torchwick, the most slippery criminal alive, may have, oh I don't know – faked his own death?"

"I'm not?" Ruby blurted out, genuinely surprised.

"Of course not! But most those who share that same theory are losers in the police force. But I am a Schnee, and I have a standard to uphold. It is a family name I carry with great responsibility. And I am not about to let a little brat sully my one and only perfect RECORD!"

Weiss shouted, raising her fist to deck Ruby right across her jaw, knocking her far back into the empty street. What amazing power in that one punch, a strength that you wouldn't normally assume a girl of her elegant physique could possess.

Just as Ruby got on her feet again, regaining her balance and bearing, she turned to face the front of the mirror shop to confront a horrible truth – she was not seeing things earlier that day, because this Weiss girl indeed possessed the uncanny ability to step into the world of the mirrors, the world of the reflection, with her torso melting into the silver, slowly descending beneath the shiny surface as if it were made of liquid.

In her hand she wielded a powerful steel rapier with a unique emblem marked on the hilt. It wasn't like any rapier Ruby had ever seen before, modified to hold Dust rounds as if it were a revolver of sort.

"I have been following Torchwick for nearly two months," Weiss said within the mirror world. "Doing reconnaissance work and mapping out his movements. I was going to follow him back into his secret lair where his entire operation is, but you had to come in and ruin all of that with your stupid little stunt you pulled. Now we have no leads, no perp to interrogate, and no sign of the boss himself. So yes, you ask why I'm so angry. You would be ticked off, too if a dumb brat ruined everything you so carefully planned!"

"I… didn't ask you anything."

"I DIDN'T ASK FOR YOUR OPINION, DAMMIT! What part of that don't you get? Prepare to face the power of my weapon's Ability, the Myrtenaster."

What a terrifying Ability, Ruby thought to herself. The power to enter the opposite world that existed on possibly any and all reflective surfaces. Weiss had only shown capable of going into an actual mirror so far, but it would be foolish not to assume she could do so in other types of reflective surfaces as well.

"The Schnees are well known for our mastery of weapons crafting," Weiss said. "We possess the power to push Dust fusion technology to the fullest extent, creating truly unique abilities that go beyond simple elemental powers. Through complex engineering we were able to create Glyphs through fusion of Fire, Ice, Gravity and Hard Light Dust. It is a proud tradition, one I intend to improve even further, going beyond perfection. TAKE THIS!"

Faster than a blink of an eye, Weiss dashed outside of the mirror world and straight towards where Ruby stood, slashing at her with great precision. Ruby was able to dodge the full force of the attack, but only barely, thus she was grazed with a significant cut on the side of her cheek.

Weiss had disappeared from the mirror in the shop. And only with a long moment of looking around did Ruby finally spotted where she was now – within the reflection of the window on the building across the street. Ruby's hypothesis was right, Weiss really could attach herself on any reflective surfaces.

"Too slow!" Weiss cried out, holding her rapier upright. "The power of the Schnee Glyphs truly is amazing. It allows top-notch stealth and defense while still retaining immense striking power, calculated to maximum efficiency. No wasted movements, perfect posture. You cannot touch me while I am in the mirror, even if you break the mirror itself, it is futile."

Ruby raised her Crescent Rose in an attempt to defend herself, but Weiss's Glyphs were just too fast for her to react, making another deep cut on the side of her forearm. It was simply baffling to Ruby, as she knew she had the reflexes to casually react to military grade rounds and projectiles. So how was Weiss getting by without being seen? How?

A tactical retreat was in order, with haste Ruby set down her Crescent Rose and activated its wheel. She planned to travel down the street to where the office near the airship field was. Perhaps she will be safe in there.

"Do you have any idea how it felt being the next person on the waitlist applying to Beacon to suddenly lose that position when a no good reckless brat came out of nowhere and swoop in like a vulture? DO YOU? I worked hard to get to where I am, and I'm not about to dishonor my name."

"Give it a rest, princess," Ruby shouted as Crescent Rose sped down the road, knowing Weiss was following from behind, "you had a bad day, it happens."

"IT'S HEIRESS TO YOU! TAKE THIS!"

Another strike coming from behind, this time from above where the reflective glass of the streetlamp was.

Ruby clenched onto Crescent Rose tight, and slammed her foot down onto the road to anchor it tight. It gave her immense leg pain, but it was necessary for her defensive strategy.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Weiss shouted.

In shock that her rapier thrust was blocked by a flurry of scythe swings and slashes, created by Ruby as she formed a massive protective dome around her. To make sure that no matter where Weiss was striking from, her blade would not be able to penetrate this defense.

It was a costly move for Ruby however. In exchange for another chance at combat, she had to sacrifice her right leg when she anchored it to the concrete road. Going at that immense speed was sure to break a few bones in her thigh, tearing a few muscles even.

This was a difficult fight for Ruby, for she had never met any opponent as disciplined as Weiss was. Every movement looked graceful and unnecessary as a flashy performance or a dance, and yet they were secretly incredibly meticulous and calculated. Her form was rock solid, that was undeniable.

"Adequate block," said Weiss, "but your pose was sloppy, so now you won't be going anywhere at that breakneck speed anymore."

"_You want to go to Beacon that bad?_" Ruby shouted to compensate for the pain she felt. "Is that what this is about?"

"You really are just a stupid little girl aren't you? Roman was MY target you dunderhead! You are going to hand over those Roman footages and step out of the picture. Because the one going to the press and taking Roman down is me!"

With great determination and an excessive amount of force, Ruby forced her bones back into where they were, letting out a loud cry of agony at the same time. It hurt, but at least now she could stand up straight now, even if she was limping a tiny bit.

"Fat chance, sister," Ruby cried. "Because I, Red Rider, righteous hero of Metroland, will never give into evil."

"Are you… roleplaying?" Weiss tilted her head in confusion.

"Maybe…" Ruby smiled. "But it's good enough as a distraction I guess."

With her finger on the trigger, she fired a whole barrage onto Weiss, raining down a hail of bullets. Her skills with the Glyphs and the rapier were just too much however, as she quickly cast a massive circular pattern into thin air, as if it were her family name and emblem protecting her from this assault of metal pellets.

It did not matter much however, as Ruby's primary goal was not to deal any damage, but instead to work her sniper's kickback into her advantage. Activating the wheel once more and speeding off into the distance with the momentum she gained.

Weiss sighed quietly under her breath, her anger seemingly subsided for a brief moment, replaced by a series of mumbling nonsense to herself:

"You know that old fairy tale about Winter, the old poem collection? _Tell me who's the mightiest of might, tell me who's the heartfullest of hearts._ I get the first part, it's a line questioning who is the mightiest among the four Seasons. With Winter later on lamenting how her immense power and kindness to those who are lost in the snowy wasteland is a heavy burden for her to bear, a burden she must bear alone. BUT WHAT ON SEASON'S GREEN REMNANT DOES 'HEARTFULLEST' EVEN MEAN? I GET THAT IT IS FROM THE OLD TONGUE, BUT IT STILL MAKES NO GODDAMN SENSE. IS IT ASKING WHO'S THE KINDEST OF THEM ALL? THAT'S SO REDUNDANT! GODDAMN INEFFICIENT POETRY!"

"Yeah, stay there and shout out your nonsense all day if you want," Ruby cried as she bolted into the office. "I'll be turning in my application now. Best not to make a scene in here, otherwise they'll call the cops on both us. That wouldn't do to well for your reputation now, would it?"

And yet, that threat from Ruby only managed to elicit a slight chuckle from the heiress. She was not afraid of losing this fight at all.

"Look around you," Weiss smirked. "You think you have the advantage just because of social convention? Honey, I had to attend a party with Mistral's Queen, she was not pleasant at all. This victory is as good as mine. Look at how many reflective surfaces there are in this place!"

Weiss was absolutely right. The automatic glass doors, the lights on the ceiling, the glass panels on the handrails, and various smooth surfaces coated with a layer of what looked like aluminum or even silver. There were only three people in here today, not including the receptionist, so not very crowded. But why on earth were they all wearing sunglasses? Take them off when you're inside you idiots! Ruby thought to herself. One lady had them dangling from the collar of her shirt, the other gentlemen on the other hand refused to take them off, the ego on this man!

This situation allowed Weiss the possible strategy of creating a perimeter around Ruby, allowing her to strike at a speed faster than Ruby could react, more importantly at an unpredictable angle. Ruby won't have any idea where the strike will be coming from. The other people in this office won't even notice Weiss, but if Ruby were to retaliate, she would look like a crazy person.

"Despite how it often looks on TV, my life has never been easy," Weiss's voice echoed around Ruby's ears, "I've always had to work twice as hard as my peers. Ice Dust are not useful in our line of work they often say, Grimm are immune to Ice Dust, so what's the use? And they were right. But I pushed on regardless, because it is my skill and my skill alone that will push me forward, carrying the legacy into a bright future. Time to die, RED RIDER!"

Without a moment to waste, the air surrounding Ruby dropped to a lethal temperature, freezing breeze blowing by her neck just as before, with pellets and shining ice crystals surrounding her like a winter storm. A powerful blizzard attack being held up by the rotation of Weiss's Glyphs spinning beneath where Ruby stood.

An ingenious plan of attack where Weiss combined the prowess of her Gravity Dust to create this vortex capable of holding up the ice pellets that were surrounding Ruby, while simultaneously locking her feet to the ground so she could not dodge the upcoming assault.

Ruby finally understood what she meant by her raw skill. The ice pellets themselves could only deal minimal damage, Ruby could deflect them with her scythe no problem. But it is their reflective nature that Weiss was really relying on. Using the shining crystal-like surface of these frozen projectiles to travel into her mirror world and strike Ruby at multiple different angle.

The storm raged on, slashing on Ruby's calves, her shoulders, followed by multiple swift strike aimed at her head. She managed to block some of them, but the bleeding became even more severe as time went on. She couldn't even see Weiss's blade, that was how fast she was moving.

Ruby was too far away from the receptionist and the other people for them to notice her wounds, and her feet was locked down at a position in the room where those people would not even be able to spot the raging ice storm due to it blending in with the light – the ice might as well be invisible from their points of view.

Weiss truly was the most powerful opponent Ruby had ever faced in her life. A true battle genius.

"Why don't you make this easier for both of us and just give up?" Weiss shouted. "Just give me the footage and back off from applying to Beacon. Then maybe I'll let you walk away with your life. I can make your death look like an accident, it is no effort at all. The authority will never be able to tell the difference."

The bleeding was quite severe, pouring from nearly all corners of her body. Holding up Crescent Rose now proved to be difficult with her shaking hands.

"Give up?" She whispered, coughing up some blood, "Maybe… maybe that is the best path to take."

"Smart girl."

"I was orphaned at a young age, growing up with no name, no parent, not a penny to my name. Living in a city of the rats, a city of sin… it is a pain I've gone through a thousand times. It is a pain I would never wish for others to feel."

"Yeah, I don't care. Just hand over the footage."

"But then," Ruby continued, "a spot of sunlight came into my life, a powerful hero riding into the city with a pair of six shooters by his side. He was a defender of justice, champion of the weak… a hero… a true hero… of Metroland…"

"Wait a minute," Weiss squinted her eyes, "are you… roleplaying? Again?"

A smirk instantly appeared on Ruby's face.

"No, not possible," cried Weiss. "You're not giving up at all, aren't you?"

"Volume 1, issue 17 of the Red Rider," Ruby smiled as crimson dripped down her face, "read a real book for once, princess. Drop those pretentious poetry and you might learn a thing or two."

"Such a pathetic, useless attempt. You still cannot defeat me."

"I don't need to… heh… I just need to lure you out."

"WHAT?"

"Look around you, Weiss, tell me what you see."

To Weiss's horror, the room's light began to dim.

"What happened here?" Weiss cried. "It's the middle of the day, the sun should be up right… no…"

"That's right snow princess. That whole rant about the superhero comic was just to stall. Stall to get enough time for the sun to rise far above the building where its light cannot enter through the windows anymore. It is high noon, the sun is standing at a perfect right angle."

"No… no!"

"I keep wondering to myself about your uncanny Ability. How on earth can someone like me attack an enemy whose defensive strategy involve hiding in the mirror world? What a perfect shield, it makes you almost invincible. But then I realized I was asking the wrong question. Because fact of the matter is – there is no such thing as a parallel world that exists in the mirror. It's scientifically not possible. Your Ability does not allow you to harm anyone in the real world by simply attacking their reflection. So far, you have only been shown attacking when you're physically outside the mirror."

"You… you don't mean…"

"I do, princess, I do. I have figured out your Ability. Reflections on mirrors are nothing but light rays traveling to a certain position, a certain surface and bouncing off of that surface. You have been skillfully using your Glyphs to stick yourself onto these light rays, thus allowing yourself to travel at these massive speeds. All you have to do is calculate at which angle the light will hit a surface of a mirror, and then stick yourself to that reflective surface. Bada-bing, now you're safely hidden in a quote unquote mirror world."

Weiss gritted her teeth, clearly incredibly annoyed at Ruby's deduction. Ruby smiled and continued:

"The problem with your Ability here is that no mortal on Remnant has the power to react at the speed of light, so you can't redirect yourself when you travel between reflections. What you have to do instead is calculate and predict _beforehand _which reflective surface you'll end up in, which is incredibly risky. One wrong move and you fly face first into a brick wall. Since you're so smart, though, that's not a big deal, not at all. But if you can predict that trajectory, then so can I."

Ruby loaded up her Dust bullet, and began aiming them straight up at the lights on the ceiling.

"EVERYBODY RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, GRIMM ATTACK!" Ruby shouted to the other people in the office before unloading all her bullets onto the lights, shattering them into pieces of glass raining down the commotion.

And just as she predicted, they began screaming in horror as the chaotic echo of broken lights traveled across the hall, they scrambled to get their bearings and headed straight for the door – precisely where Ruby's legs had been planted.

"I have reduced the light rays in this office by a tremendous amount, dimming the room to almost total darkness. You now have fewer options in terms of where you can travel, but more importantly, ice princess, are you going to let the ice vortex surrounding me hurt these innocent civilians? They're heading towards us right now as we speak."

"DAMMIT!" In a fit of rage, Weiss was forced to drop her Glyph beneath Ruby's feet, thus killing the furious ice storm surrounding her. Letting both her and the civilians go free.

"I'll take that, mister, if you don't mind," Ruby yanked the sunglasses off the young man as he bolted out, "yoink!"

"What are you planning to do with that?" Weiss asked.

"Now that this room has darkened," said Ruby, "I can now clearly see which reflection you are currently in. Right there on the dim glass lamp directly above my head. Not even the ice pellets on the floor here can save you now. There is not enough light to make them reflective. So your only option now," Ruby chuckled beneath her breath, "is in this pair of sunglasses right here in my hand. It would be so easy for me to force you out, all I have to do is shatter that lamp you're in. Nowhere to run, princess! Either you come out on your own or I force you out!" Ruby aimed Crescent Rose at the ceiling, loading her final bullet into the chamber, "Check – mate."

The boiling blood in Weiss's eyes shined brightly as ever, an uncouth brat who did not understand manners or dignity, she thought. Just some dunderhead that let a crime lord get away like an absolute amateur. How? How could someone like this had deduced her fighting style? A style she had worked so hard to perfect.

Now with the nozzle of Ruby's scythe pointing straight up at the lamp, it did not even matter how fast Weiss could travel downward. The moment Ruby pulls her trigger a projectile would have already left her sniper. Weiss would be coming straight down onto her own demise.

"Looks like we have ourselves a little standoff," said Ruby.

Weiss smashed her angry teeth together, grinding them almost to a fine powder.

"Don't talk as if we are equals," said Weiss. "We are not."

"Care to find out then? My bullet versus your rapier. Which one will reach their target first?"

"You and your goddamn childish superhero fantasy. This is not like a Western shootout, you hear? It is NOT!"

"Your move… heiress!"

"GAH!" Blood shot straight up onto Weiss's pupils, with her veins now visibly popping out of her head.

Despite Weiss's disdain of Ruby's childish superhero obsession, deep down she too realized the level of intensity she was feeling felt as if it was lifted straight out of the pages of the fictional world. The classic dichotomy, the conflict between a hero and a villain. A tale as old as time.

The only question was – which one was the hero, and which one was the villain?

Weiss steadied her blade, taking in one deep breath, just as she had practiced a thousand times before. Determined to stab this annoying brat with whatever she got left. With the burden of her family name on the line, she aimed, and she gripped it tight.

Ruby did the same, steadied her breathing, planted the rifle tight into the ground. No trigger happy finger she told herself, with the amount of blood she had lost it would've been difficult. But Ruby bit her lower lip with whatever determination she had left, letting the blood run down her chin.

The silence carried on, but the thick air and fighting aura grew ever stronger.

"TAKE THIS!" Both of them yelled in unison, "MY FINAL ATTACK."

A loud bang…

And a swift slash.

Just like that, it was over.

Weiss stared down to Ruby, smiling triumphantly to see her rapier digging deep into the brat's abdomen. Right in the center, a direct hit, no mistake about it.

And yet the victorious grin did not last, because once she realized her own ribcage had been blown to smithereens – Weiss fell down onto the ground as a fountain blood erupted from her mouth.

Two bloodied bodies lying next to one another, barely alive.

Both girls laid there, with their backs fully flat. They felt the last of their energy releasing from every inch of their muscles, their bones, from every finger. Their body felt numb, was this to be the last sight they see before eternal slumber?

"So… heh… how about that autograph then?"

"You… you beat me… my perfect record… how could this have happened?"

"It looks like a draw to me… It doesn't matter anyway… I'm not going to be a Huntress… after all… it's way past noon now. Professor Ozpin specifically demanded me to turn in my papers before that… I guess there's always next year…"

"You're still thinking about that? You're about to die dammit!" Weiss began coughing violently.

"That's all I can think of… all… I want to be…"

"_And you shall be…_" a strange voice echoed from behind the two girls.

Weiss and Ruby looked up, to their shock was the towering figure of none other than the man himself – Headmaster Ozpin.

He stood there, no longer in his old man disguise, instead donning a stylish black suit with an emerald scarf wrapped around his neck. His black spectacles dangled loosely between his powerful green eyes that hid beneath the shadow of his shining silver hair. A shining spark of hope.

"Congratulations you two," Ozpin smiled brilliantly. "You both pass the test."

The two girls widened their eyes, consumed by their stuttering shock:

"I… I… I don't… understand."

"Deceptively simple isn't it? Miss Rose?" Ozpin chuckled. "Just walk down the road and turn in your application. It's almost too good to be true. But reality begs to differ, because fact of the matter is, there are countless other students on the waitlist who would do nothing short of murder to get to where you are."

"In retrospect… my bloodlust was a tad bit… blown out of proportion… and… embarrassing," Weiss admitted as she coughed once more.

"So… you were the one who planned this?" Ruby asked, "You knew… you knew Weiss was coming… didn't you?"

"Correct. That's the reality of the world we live in girls," Ozpin explained. "There are no special treatment. And anybody who is worth anything must fight to get to where they are. Fight to earn a living, fight to survive… fight – to protect those we love. That is what this job requires – sacrifice. The willingness, the strength, and the resolve to give your life for good. I see the strength and resolve in both of you this day. To have both your talents wasted elsewhere would be an absolute shame."

"So… you're saying…" Ruby glanced upwards, still in disbelief.

Ozpin welcomed the two of them with a warm grin:

"A promise is a promise. You passed the test, so I am here to personally escort you to Beacon Academy. Welcome to your new life."

* * *

**AN: A couple of changes from canon is apparent in this chapter. Firstly is that the major religion revolves around the 4 Seasons, hinted during last chapter. And as mentioned by Weiss in the chapter itself, Grimm are immune to Ice Dust, other types of Dust are a hard counter against the virus however. Another big change is in Weiss's Ability. Her Semblance in the canon show is capable of doing so much, time dilation, summoning, as if it's getting new abilities as the story goes on, which might get broken really quickly. This version of Weiss only has one Ability, and it's a repurposed of the canon Glyphs into something more thematically tied with mirrors. The last big change this chapter is how Ruby actually got into Beacon, by passing a test set up by Ozpin.**


	3. Ruby vs Black Cat Part 1

"Wow… I… I feel better already," Ruby smiled, swinging her recently healed arm around as if it was never damaged in the first place. The joints felt smooth, and the muscles did not ache. "What an amazing weapon Ability."

"It's Professor Goodwitch's Disciplinarian," Ozpin smiled, holding up this thin black riding crop glowing with purple Dust radiation, "don't tell her I borrowed it. She's going to flip when she finds out I drained the battery."

"My lips are sealed," Ruby made a sliding motion over her mouth. "You have got to tell me how it works. What kind of Dust core does it run on? Is it Atlesian steel? Or some kind of special polymer reinforced by the magnetism of Gravity Dust?"

"You'll have to ask Glynda herself, I'm afraid," Ozpin laughed at the young girl's curiosity. "All I know is that the weapon's Ability allows the user to revert organic matter back to a previous state. It's a powerful weapon for a combat medic. Though Seasons know I tried to use it as an actual mechanic. It… didn't fix my coffee machine. Doesn't work on inorganic matter."

"Will Professor Goodwitch be teaching one of my classes?" Ruby asked.

"It's possible. She is in charge of a large portion of the combat training. She's very sharp, and quick to get students out of dangerous injuries. What a reliable woman she is."

"What about you, Professor? Will you be teaching any of the classes?"

"I might drop in once in a while. But no guarantee, I'm afraid. A school as massive as Beacon doesn't run by itself. I know it sounds like a brag but it's just exhausting if I'm being frank."

"Oh, man," Ruby sat back in her seat in this massive state-of-the-art airship, glancing about with gleeful eyes, "Weiss is definitely missing out. I can hardly wait."

"It is unfortunate that the SDC people carried her off in a stretcher before I had the chance to heal her," said Ozpin, shaking his head. "A shame really, because nothing brings me more joy than the wide starry eyed looks of new students experiencing the thrills and adventure of their new life for the first time. Stepping outside of this airship and into the school yard. You never forget your first."

"Oh, now I _really_ can't wait."

"Please," Ozpin pointed at one of the magazine cases by their seats, "why don't you read some comics to pass the time. We have the latest issue of the Red Rider for you."

"Oh my god," Ruby squealed, "I can't believe it!"

"I told you I was a comic reader, didn't I?" Ozpin winked.

"That healing wand of yours does make me feel a bit drowsy, though," Ruby began rubbing her eyes. "It's been days since I took my last nap. That Roman fellow sure is one tricky goon."

The air around Ozpin tightened as he slowly leaned forward, his eyes glaring with a heavy sense of severity.

"Torchwick isn't just some ordinary goon, you know?" Said Ozpin. "He is dangerous, cunning. He's smarter than people give him credit for. He is Godfather for a reason. Every move he takes is a calculated play, always thinking ahead. Are you absolutely sure you want to go to the press about his return?"

Ruby sat back up straight, looking at the professor with great determination:

"Yes, I'm sure. I want to take him down. And I'm fully aware of how dangerous Roman and his men are. He is growing quite a following. All in the goal of muscling his way onto one of the seats on the Fawnu Assembly."

"Indeed," Ozpin nodded. "Most of the crime families on the Assembly respect old gang traditions. Some would even say they are stuck in the past, too old-fashioned. These new young goons with the Torchwicks, however, don't share that same level of respect, and that makes them unpredictable."

"Which is why I've taken measures to make sure my family is safe and sound before I left for my mission. We grew up in Patch, you see. Me and my sister, along with our dad. Lately, he's been telling me he wanted us to move out of the island and into the big city, I managed to convince him to stay for now. So I know he's safe where he is."

"You sound confident. You think that will be enough to keep the mobsters away from your father?"

"I _know_ it is enough. My dad is really strong, and I mean like really, really strong. I have never beaten him in combat before, and neither has my sister. My uncle Qrow circles around the area from time to time, too. So I know he's in good company."

"Ah yes, good ol' Qrow Branwen. How is the old bird doing these days?"

"He's been doing fine, thanks," Ruby smiled. "He's been trying really hard to keep away from the bottles. He likes to act tough when he's around me or my sister, but I know how hard it must be for him."

"I really should visit him when I have the time," Ozpin grinned, almost as if reminiscing. "It's been an awfully long time. Why, he might not even recognize me on the account of how old I am."

Ruby giggled:

"Good one, professor," and they both laughed out in blissful content.

"I really want to catch him, catch Roman Torchwick," Ruby sat back, with a sad pair of eyes glimmering of silver. "This drug business of his has got to stop, and the whole protection money business and the gang war as well. None of it is right. I'm so close to catching him, I can just feel it."

Ozpin took one deep sigh:

"I hope for the sake of Vale… that you're right."

* * *

It had been a whole hour and a half since Ruby fell asleep. She glanced at the clock on her scroll and she couldn't believe she would nod off just like that. She was feeling much better now, though, much more refreshed. Still a little drowsy from the healing session earlier, but it was better than nothing.

Professor Ozpin, too, nodded off in his seat across Ruby's. He looked so peaceful, silently snoring under his fluffy green scarf.

There was, however, still something odd about this whole ordeal that Ruby simply could not get off from her mind. The airship was completely empty, there were no other students onboard. Was she and Weiss the only ones who got this special offer from the headmaster? Was she and Weiss the only ones good enough? Ozpin said there were no special treatment, and yet… it felt awfully easy for some strange reason.

It was a bizarre thing to say. After all, Ruby was nearly killed back there when she was fighting Weiss. The heiress was a difficult opponent, not even her sister Yang could push Ruby to that extent. Though to be fair, Ruby thought to herself, Yang was holding back in most of their bouts. They were family, so it was hard to go all out.

Regardless, the fight did not even last the whole day, only barely past noon. Under normal circumstances students must go through numerous tests of skills and wit in order to even get into the waitlist at Beacon. The tests may not be life threatening, but they were numerous.

So why did it feel so easy?

Unless…

The test was not over.

"_Meow_…"

The sound forced Ruby to jump out of her seat. It was faint, and yet still distinct. A cat? In here of all places? She didn't hear a thing when she first boarded the ship. Nor did she see any sign of a feline in the hours the two of them sat here talking.

Ruby glanced down her own seat and into the shadow, and sure enough, there they were – cat feces! No mistake about it, small droppings rolling around in the darkness underneath. It looked fresh, too, as if it was there just a few minutes ago. But no sign of life anywhere.

She tiptoed over to where Ozpin was sleeping, carefully lifted his legs off the ground to look underneath – still nothing.

"Kitty?" Ruby whispered.

"_Meow…"_

It was faint, and getting closer. But its echo made it hard to identify where it was coming from.

Spinning her head around back to her seat, however – and there it was, a black cat, just sitting there, patiently watching with its pair of yellow eyes.

It was as if it had just materialized out of thin air. Ruby was certain she had been refreshed from her nap. There was no way she was seeing things. The cat was definitely there, living, breathing, but not moving for some peculiar reason. All it did was stare, unblinking.

There was a certain aura about the cat, the way it wagged its tail back and forth in a slow but decisive motion. The way it glared with its glimmering diamond-like eyes, it was as if the cat was sentient, and sitting there, waiting – for… something.

"Hey, there… little kitty?"

Ruby reached her hand out slowly, attempting to pet its smooth glistening black fur. Closer and closer her fingers reached to touch it.

Closer, and closer…

Once Ruby was merely inches away, something felt strange at the tip of her fingers. Small waves of heat began ascending through her skin and into her hand. She thought that the heater in the airship must've been going off somehow, but bafflingly, that was not the case. Because the cat was breathing out scorching streams of fire, burning Ruby's slender fingers just as she touched it.

"AH!" She cried, patting the flame off her hand. "What the devil?"

Like some kind of dragon from myths or a fairy tale, the cat was spewing out perfect little round balls of fire, scattering all over the cabin and bouncing off the metal surfaces. One of them even bounced off Professor Ozpin, lightly torching his scarf and his silver hair. With the man sitting there in bliss, none the wiser, continuing to snore like a baby.

If the professor wasn't going to wake up from his nap, then the only person left who could help out this predicament was the pilot himself. There was probably an auto pilot function or something, and Ruby could use the extra hand. Outright killing the fire breathing kitty might be a bad idea. Maybe she should just bag it up and throw it outside the airship. Cats always land on their feet after all.

Ruby slapped herself for even thinking of such a horrible thing. Panic was one hell of a drug.

"Hey, mister pilot," Ruby whispered to the front. "Could you come back here and help me out with this one thing? There's a little kitty here, and it's um… messing everything up."

Surprisingly, there was no answer.

"Um… hello?"

Ruby took a peek into the cockpit. Starring out into the front she noticed that it was already night time. Flying through the clouds at this height and time was exhilarating, it gave her the sensation that she could reach up and touch the stars.

That sensation quickly died down, though, replaced by a feeling of horror when Ruby saw that the pilot's skin was completely pale, brittle, cold to the touch. His body was being consumed by strange shades of black goo that was slowly working its way up his forearms, his shins. It was eating away at his skin like some sort of parasite, slowly peeling off his fingernails and prying them backwards, away from the steering wheel.

Glancing up to the man's face revealed a sight so disgusting it made Ruby want to vomit. The blank empty pupils of his eyes rolling backwards into his own head with streams of bloody tears dripping down his bony cheeks. Dripping right beneath the drool that was bubbling up inside his gaping mouth.

Closer inspection inside his mouth revealed a horrible truth.

There – the bony sharp fangs of a monster.

"HOLY MOTHER OF SPRING!" Ruby blurted out, jumping backwards.

There was no mistake about it, this man was infected by the Grimm virus.

He was now a human Grimm – a Vampyr.

Any human or Faunus infected by the Grimm virus will begin their transformation into a more powerful version of the ordinary humanoid sapiens. That was the function of the virus, boosting strength, speed, stamina to any living creature it touched, no exceptions. Only at the terrible cost of the creature's sanity and brain function, and the added weakness against most types of Dust radiation. Not to mention the irresistible lust for blood and flesh.

Every year, there would be countless reports of some foolish human or Faunus purposefully getting themselves infected by the virus, all in the futile attempt at acquiring more power. A gangster who wished to battle against the police, the Huntsmen. A bullied child sick of being beaten by their peers, wanting revenge against their bullies. Or even a misguided police officer wishing to combat a whole gang of armed drug dealers by their lonesome self.

The power was tempting, but they had almost always come from the lowlifes, the underground crime network, or other isolated incidents. Cases of Vampyric transformation were always small scale, and always self-inflicted. Never had there been any major large scale attempt of turning people against their will.

The pilot was a staff at Beacon Academy, he wasn't some thug or criminal. He was a decent man with a steady job whom Ozpin trusted to pilot the airship. Ruby did not see anything shady when they chatted earlier, just before boarding the ship. So only one logical conclusion remained:

Someone had purposefully injected this innocent man with Grimm essence.

But how?

Concentrated Grimm essence was incredibly expensive. Only through the radiation of Ice Dust, the only type of Dust the Grimm were immune to, could the essence be contained and kept intact. This was the only way because Grimm carcasses would always disintegrate almost immediately after biting the dust.

How did he get infected? Where did the essence come from?

No time for questions, Ruby told herself, shaking her head.

The main issue now was to get out of this predicament alive. She was rather lucky in this scenario, however, as the Vampyr hadn't exactly realized she was there behind it in the cabin despite her shouting aloud earlier.

Which was odd because Vampyrs were often very susceptible to sound. Chaotic and crowded situations were ideal for these creatures. On the other hand, a skilled and calm fighter who could hold their breath could theoretically escape a single Vampyr without suffering any damage. It was often the advice given to the general public if one were to ever encounter such monsters. No sudden movement, no screaming.

I have got to warn Professor Ozpin, Ruby thought to herself. The airship seemed to be on autopilot for the time being, but there was no guarantee it would last forever. Cutting up the Vampyr with Crescent Rose was not an option, the cramp space of the cabin would make it near impossible not to cut the whole ship in half, or maybe even puncturing one of the gas tanks. Not to mention it might harm the professor with just one wrong swing.

Ruby needed to wake Ozpin up without alerting the Vampyr.

That would prove to be a new challenge, however, because when she turned around, she was flabbergasted at the sight of two Professor Ozpins sitting side by side, still deep in slumber.

"What the – where did he come from?" Ruby whispered her confused scream. "Is this some kind of sick practical joke? That can't be right, Yang isn't here right now."

Was this the Ability of Professor Ozpin's weapon? Did he even have a weapon? Would be strange for a headmaster of a Huntsman school not to have one. But then again organizing and doing the paperwork behind the scene wasn't exactly equivalent to physically going out into the field. He didn't seem to be carrying anything too unwieldy with him. And yet here we were, two Ozpins, essentially identical in height, build, complexion, hair color and clothing. There were absolutely no visual cue to separate the two.

Now theoretically, Ruby could just forget about it and wake the both of them up at the same time. If this was an illusion of some sort, maybe it will break once Ozpin wakes up. Not to mention, if this was merely a visual illusion affecting only Ruby herself, then there was the possibility of finding out the truth by merely touching them. The non-corporeal illusion should not be real, therefore could not be touched.

"There is no telling if this is an illusion, however," Ruby whispered to herself. "What if this is a trap? What if this is a man in disguise? And the moment I touch him will be the moment I die? That makes it a fifty-fifty chance. Those aren't good odds."

The Vampyr had finally gotten out of his seat, now sniffing at the air. It did not seem like it knew where Ruby was located, perhaps the pilot had poor eyesight? Odd for a pilot, but still. Grimm enhancements could only do so much at the end of the day.

"Crap!"

The sight of the Ozpin clone was still unsettling, only added upon by the disturbing gargling noise the Vampyr made as if it was being choked by a rope.

When a person transformed into a Vampyr, their life had essentially been forfeited. Death would often come quick to those consumed by Grimm. There was no way to save the pilot, not anymore.

But there was still enough time to grab Ozpin and get out of this mess. If Ruby could just figure out which one was the real Ozpin without getting close. Time was running out, the Vampyr was approaching.

And the cat was still meowing.

The cat!

Ruby glanced back to her seat, and strangely enough, the cat was still there. But instead of sitting still as a statue and glaring menacingly at Ruby, it was curled back into a defensive position, head lowered down, and claws out – all while hissing at the creeping Vampyr near the cockpit. Its breath burned hot with the fire raging inside its throat.

And it suddenly hit Ruby.

Scrambling to check her pockets, the ones on her skirt and on her belt, trying to remember which one contained her Fire Dust. She opened up the zipper from one of the pouches on the side of her hip and sure enough – there was a hole underneath it.

"Dear god… it's all starting to make sense now. The cat wasn't some ridiculous fire breathing chimera. It was just chewing on the irradiated Fire Dust. That's why there's droppings everywhere! Holy mother of Spring! This is what I get for falling asleep."

The monster crept ever closer to Ruby, the Ozpin clone showed no sign of disappearing, and the cat was still hissing with its fiery breath.

The time to act was now!

"It looks like I won't have to wake up Oz after all," Ruby smirked, just as she leapt over to her seat, grabbing onto the kitty. It began to squirm the moment Ruby laid a single finger on its fur, but Ruby's grip was tight and she would not let go. "You're pretty hungry, aren't you little kitty? So why don't have some more of these delicious Fire Dust, eh? I apologize in advance."

With a handful of Dust in her hand, Ruby forcefully shoved the radiant powdered crystals down the cat's throat. It was more flexible than she first thought, felt more like rubbery leather than actual cat flesh. The cat strangely enough was not harmed either, seemingly more annoyed and angry than anything else.

"You'll thank me for this later when we get out of here alive. Now, BURN THAT GRIMM! Burn it to the ground, burn to dust!"

All it took for the fire to explode from the cat's stomach was one decisive mighty yank on the tail. And it all came bursting out as a massive fireball, flying at the Vampyr and consuming its gooey black flesh. It felt like a water gun of sort, constantly yanking and firing, nonstop. For Ruby had decided there and then to not leave a single trace of Grimm behind, not even a speck of dust, or a tiny piece of skin cell, nothing!

Her determination and recklessness would prove to be fatal, however. It was not an easy victory, in fact, most people probably wouldn't even consider it a victory – because a quick glance towards the metal tanks placed near the ceiling of the cockpit and Ruby realized that it was leaking out some strange type of gas. Sniffing at the air and she knew right away that she had made a terrible mistake.

Those were the airship's fuel tanks. And they were _highly_ combustible.

"Ahhh, fish sticks!"

"Quite the predicament you've gotten us in, Miss Rose."

Ruby spun her head around, overjoyed that the professor had finally awoken. More importantly – the fake Ozpin clone had finally disappeared. The culprit behind such machination still remained a mystery.

"Looks like this airship is going to blow," Ozpin commented in his mellow tone. "Are you aware of what people often call a Landing Strategy?"

"Yes, sir," Ruby nodded. "I've been practicing at Signal with my friends, just to get a head start when I go to Beacon."

"I do hope those practice sessions pay off. Because you're about to experience an early initiation. Welcome to Beacon!"

"AHHHH!"

The fire caught the gas, the engine burst off, violently snapping the ship in half…

To be continued…


	4. Ruby vs Blake Part 2

_Long ago, there lived a princess of power and wealth. Her pool of gold and libraries stretched miles long, deep into the distance far. She was a beauty like none had ever seen before, glistening and bold. Day after day, suitors, noblemen and princes near and far would come asking for her hand._

_And day after day they would return from her kingdom, changing their minds entirely._

_What could possibly cause them such a reaction? The people scratched their heads. Pointing their fingers at the rich men, exposing their depravity, corruption, selfish desires to marry the beauty for the throne and nothing more. The rich men denied it all, of course, like the cruel men they were. The princess was too beautiful to do any wrong._

_Little did they know – the princess harbored inside her something ugly, something foul. Locked inside a vault so deep that no key in the world could open, no pry bar could expose. Behind the door she kept closed at all times hid a beautiful secret:_

_A beastly beast._

(Excerpts from the Book of Spring's Chronicles)

* * *

The most important thing to remember in a landing strategy was to not panic. Panicking would only make things worse. It will disorient the mind and make it impossible to formulate a strategy. Uncle Qrow had always told Ruby that there was nothing to fear when falling from this height. The fall itself will never kill you, it was always the sudden stop. It was no different from a really powerful punch coming from a mile away. If one knew the punch was coming, there were things one could do to avoid it.

That was the fighting philosophy Qrow taught her, the strategy – it didn't matter how powerful a technique, a weapon, or a fighter was. If you knew it was coming beforehand, then the power would be rendered useless.

The opponent here today had the most predictable strategy ever, and yet it was still unpredictable only because of the varying locations. One of nature's most powerful fighter – gravity.

Ruby wasn't falling off a cliff or a mountain side. Instead, this was a free fall straight into the heart of the city, where buildings sprouted up like weeds, or better yet like spikes. Falling onto them would deal extraordinary damage. No Huntsman could feasibly survive something like this.

There were reports of a rare few who were strong enough to survive a single fall such as this. They were badly injured afterwards, but they survived. That was a chance not many Huntsmen were willing to take, so instead they relied on skills over power.

And if we were to talk about skills then Professor Ozpin may be the most skilled of anyone Ruby had ever seen, including her uncle Qrow. All for one simple reason – he was nowhere to be seen.

His last words to Ruby before disappearing was thus:

"See you on the ground."

That sneaky professor, Ruby cried to herself, wondering what he was plotting next. He talked about Roman being a slippery schemer, and yet here he was, equally cunning if not more.

Enough about Ozpin! Time to fight the ground!

Crescent Rose's main Ability was Speed. Capable of carrying her around like riding a vehicle. Even up against a solid wall if it managed to go fast enough.

Free falling right out of an exploding airship provided her with several logistical problems, the first being if she was not careful with the speed of her blade spinning, or even with the angle at which she aimed Crescent Rose downward, she could easily just slice clean through one of the walls and fall straight into the concrete. Ruby knew her own strength very well, at her best she could slice through a solid block of stone as if it were butter, assuming she had the right edge alignment and momentum.

But slicing through walls was not what she needed in this scenario, she needed to gradually decelerate as she hit the wall, with the momentum carrying her safely down into the street, decreasing the falling speed over time instead of stopping dead instantaneously. Any sudden stop without deceleration will result in her neck snapping back and forth, the whiplash will kill her for sure.

The second problem, though, was the biggest of them all. She wasn't actually free falling down into an area with lots of buildings around. Instead, the biggest and nearest building in sight was a large grey warehouse by the docks to her left, with a large bridge in the distance placed over a large body of water if she looked straight ahead, connecting to the edge of the metropolitan areas if she looked to her right. She wasn't entirely sure which way was North, South, wherever, free falling was indeed very disorienting.

If Ruby had done nothing here, and just let herself fall straight down like a rock, she would've splattered all over the concrete at the docks, ironically just a mere few meters away from the water. The warehouse was so close and yet so far.

No time to hesitate! She told herself, as she lined up her foot onto the trigger of the sniper rifle and straightened out her body, flat and horizontal like a piece of paper so that she wouldn't be in a diving position, thus slowing her falling speed. The only option now remained for her was to use the momentum of the rifle's recoil to reposition herself, aiming at the side of the warehouse instead of straight down onto the ground. Thankfully she had already reloaded the rifle before she took her nap on the airship, a lesson her uncle drilled vigorously into her mind.

Crescent Rose was a rather hefty rifle, purposefully designed so to carry a full human weight on top, as such it was able to hold a healthy magazine of ten rounds. These upgrades were not cheap, not one bit. Her dad's wallet understood that way too well, as well as her own wallet. She had to take up a part-time job as a Dust delivery girl to pay for all the equipment, it was worth it in the end.

"First shot," she whispered under her breath, sliding her foot downward against the trigger by the side of the rifle. The explosion was very clearly felt through the vibration of the rifle.

It managed to push her forward a fair amount towards the warehouse. But not quite enough!

"That's one… now two… three."

Sliding her foot against the trigger once more. She felt a much stronger push this time around. Getting a lot closer now, but still not enough.

"Four… five, six… hmm… seven!"

Only a few seconds more before hitting the ground. Now time for the tricky part, aiming Crescent Rose's blade at the right angle against the wall. Getting the heavy metal scythe rifle out of her foot was a lot more difficult in this falling position, feeling like her foot was permanently stuck in this rigid pose, disoriented by the intense wind resistance. Gravity truly was a powerful opponent.

But as long as there was no more surprises popping up out of nowhere, aligning her falling angle against the side of the wall shouldn't be too difficult. Ruby had traveled up and down thousands of walls ever since she trained with Qrow. Metal surfaces, concrete, brick walls, it did not matter.

And yet…

Ruby just HAD to go ahead and jinxed herself – out of nowhere, the rock solid wall of the warehouse opened up a large square gap, as if sliced perfectly by the most skilled chef in the world.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

So now instead of Crescent Rose's wheel digging into the stone wall and slowly decelerating down into the ground, Ruby was now diving full speed ahead straight into the innards of the murky warehouse, straight inside where countless strange machinery and mountains of wooden crates were stored. It was a little too dark to see everything inside.

But that was the least of her concern when the impact finally came. Complete darkness and a violent crack were the last things she remembered before passing out.

* * *

"_Ahhhhhhhh_hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… my spleen…"

Broken splinters and scrap metal flying everywhere across the entire room. With pieces of metal stabbing through her leg in one spot, pieces of wood piercing her shoulder in another. What a fantastic day this has been, Ruby thought to herself. Almost bleeding out and dying to that snow heiress, now she was going to continue dying inside this wooden box full of Styrofoam, some weird plastic wrap… and guns?

Was this some sort of storehouse for weapons? There was an assembly line over on the other side of the room, where all the machinery were, but nobody was working. Matter of fact, it looked as if nobody had been here for weeks. The only light source anywhere was from the gigantic hole in the wall Ruby flew in from. Other than that, it was almost pitch black, especially with the sun gradually going down beneath the horizon.

Ruby glanced around all four corners, trying her best to stand up only to be bombarded by a spiking pain in her right leg. Falling from that height will do it to you, even if you were cushioned by these blocks of wood. Not to mention the blood dripping off her forehead, something she didn't even notice when she opened her eyes again. The blood was cold, and surprisingly numb, not much pain.

With the state her leg was in, she figured she wouldn't be able to move too far. Professor Ozpin should be nearby around where she landed, that gigantic hole in the wall was hard to miss, too.

"Hey, you in there!"

A voice echoed from afar at the front gate. It was an old man, a janitor? He wore a simple blue overall with a brown cap on top of his bushy grey hair. It was peculiar to see a person here, in this seemingly abandoned place no less.

"I saw you fall out of the sky not far from here," he waved his hand. "Craziest thing I've seen all day I tell you. Are you alright?"

"Um… yeah… yeah, I'm fine," Ruby shouted back. "Could you help me out here? I had a pretty… he-he… a pretty bad fall."

"Hang in there, I'm coming over…"

A sharp clicking noise echoed silently in the darkness.

From behind the large gate of the warehouse, deep inside the creeping shadow, there shined the metal of a black pistol – just floating in midair like some sort of devil magic.

And it was aimed straight at the back of the janitor's head.

"WATCH OUT! BEHIND YOU!"

Alas… it was too late.

Quicker than the wind, carrying the weight of the flesh and generously painting the ground with the crimson life of this innocent man. Twice now today Ruby witnessed bloodshed of unjust kind. She vowed right there and then, whoever was responsible for this shall pay dearly. They had been wronged, and it was up to her to right their death.

The black pistol disappeared into the shadow as fast as it appeared. It was unlike any pistol Ruby had ever seen, a weapon with a strong knife blade attached at the back where the hammer should be. It must have been a custom work. Meaning there was only one conclusion to draw from this – Ruby was dealing with a Huntsman. And this was their weapon's Ability.

What kind of Ability was it? Ruby wondered. Some form of telekinesis? How did the pistol manage to just float in midair like that?

So many questions, and so little time.

Far above in the distance Ruby noticed a flicker of a matchstick lighting up on a platform placed above the gate, just barely revealing the face of the assailant.

Her dark clothes blended in expertly with the dark shadows of this abandoned warehouse, including the smooth silky locks of hair flowing elegantly behind her, indicating to Ruby that this was all a part of her plan. She must've been the one who sliced open the hole in the wall, and so expertly, too.

A black vest with a white shirt underneath, complimented by dark leather pants and boots. The most peculiar detail Ruby noticed, though, was the bow on her head. The leather of her clothes looked expensive, was she a noble of some sort? Couldn't be…

The yellow tinge of her gleaming eyes lit up menacingly in the shadows forming around the dim matchstick she was holding delicately between her fingers. It glared at Ruby, unblinking, like a predator stalking its prey, toying with her.

"Who are you?" Ruby pointed her finger.

The Huntress remained silent, without even a hint of breath from her nose. She stood there with her hand extending forward into a candle light, finally lighting up enough for Ruby to make out the rest of her features clearly.

Bizarrely she was standing in front of a fancy restaurant table, furnished with an elegant white table cloth. At the center of the table next to the golden candlestick lied a silver plated cloche covering over a dinner plate, on the sides were displays of magnificent silverware of top-notch quality. Big forks, tiny forks, big spoons, tiny spoons, knives of all forms, she had it all.

"You look… quite young… to be a bodyguard…" the girl finally spoke. Her voice was soothing, but strong and clear.

"What? Who are you?" Ruby cried, still dealing with the blood spurting from her wounds.

The girl continued to glare downward, still yet to blink:

"My name is Blake Belladonna," she said. "I am seventeen years old, Menagerian, proud member of the one and only White Fang."

"WHAT?" Ruby clenched her fist, "The White Fangs are here? That's… impossible."

"What I say to you is the truth, I – do – not – lie. Not now especially, because you are about to meet your demise. So it's not like learning my identity will do you any good."

"You're that confident in your Ability, huh?" Ruby smirked slightly, still gritting her teeth.

"Indeed – if I wanted you dead, you would've died on the airship long ago."

"So my hunch was right. You're the one who poisoned the pilot with Grimm essence," Ruby bit her lower lip, slamming her fist against the wooden crate, "YOU MONSTER!"

Blake tilted her head:

"So what of it? His life is of little importance to my mission, and so are yours to be quite frank."

"What do you want?"

"I was informed by my superiors that the airship you were on was housing an informant with great power on the Vale Council. He holds information on certain Dust routes traveling by train that could prove useful to our operations. You will tell me where this informant has landed and then you will die a swift death. Think of it as my reward for cooperating."

"Tsk, you think I'll just give up that easily and do what you want?"

"As a matter of fact I do," Blake continued glaring, still not blinking. "I have absolutely nothing to lose other than just some extra hours of work searching for the man in question. You on the other hand are on Death's door. It would be so – so – so – so – so – SO easy for me. I am an assassin after all, it is as natural for me as breathing. May Winter and Fall have mercy on your soul when you cross into the next world."

"I think you already know my answer, you are nothing but a monster," Ruby spat out of a mouthful of blood to the side.

Blake shook her head in the solemn darkness, finally closing her eyes.

"What a shame," she said, as she sat down the table in front of her, opening up the plate to reveal beneath a raw tuna. Still fresh as if it was dead just mere minutes ago.

Ruby held tight to her Crescent Rose as a crutch to boost herself off the ground. Limping to the best of her ability.

She soon realized that it proved to be a mistake, however, the moment her foot felt something getting in the way, something snagging beneath by the side of her shin – like some sort of string.

Emerging from the looming shadow came a loud snapping noise of metal clinking against one another, it flew out from the darkness like a boomerang, a slicing disc of silver blade glimmering against the dark metal machinery.

The blade lodged deep into Ruby's ribs, digging into both flesh and bone. Ruby had only realized then that this was the floating blade pistol that appeared earlier, the same pistol that killed the janitor earlier. Or perhaps it was a second pistol? It would make sense for a fighter like her to carry two like these, they were small and discrete enough.

The most important thing though was Ruby finally understanding how the pistol was able to just float in midair as if it was magic – there was a long black leather strip attached at the very bottom of the pistol's handle. It was Mistralian Leather, Ruby recognized the material, no mistake about it.

It must have been the more flexible type, as opposed to the more durable type that Ruby herself had sewn into her red hood. These types of leather were powerful, enhanced to different effects depending on the type of Dust the leatherworker used during the crafting process. Painting it black to blend in with the environment, stretching it out so thin it looked as if it was a single strand of black hair or a very thin piece of string, it was no wonder the pistol looked as if it was floating on its own.

"This is the power of Gambol Shroud," Blake said as she poured herself a cup of tea from a pot she seemingly manifested out of thin air. "Do not be deceived by its small size and simplicity. It may only be one gun, but it is deadly."

Ruby knew too well from experience to underestimate her in any fashion. But her comment did confuse Ruby somewhat. There was only one gun? Then how did it get all the way from behind the gate all across the warehouse to right behind Ruby to stab her in the ribs?

The only explanation Ruby could think of pointed to a complex network of thin leather strips being scattered all across this entire warehouse, hidden away by the darkness of the warehouse with the setting sun in the back. It was a devious trap, a house of horror waiting to spring forth and attack from any angle.

Ruby yanked the gun blade out of the side of her torso, trying to grab a hold only for the string to pull the gun back into the shadow, hidden away once more. The only thing she could do then was summon her Crescent Rose, readying to parry the upcoming attack. The problem now was reading Blake's strategy to know which angle the blade will strike from.

Did she even have a strategy? Ruby wondered. What if the attacks were specifically designed to be random? Letting the ricochet of the blade and the spring of the flexible leather strip do its job.

But then Ruby remembered how meticulous of a trap this whole ordeal was. It took a massive amount of effort to plan this whole thing, from the chaos on the airship to the hole in the wall. Ruby was certain that Blake wasn't the type to leave things up to chance, otherwise she would've left to find Professor Ozpin long ago instead of sticking around and gloating on that platform above the gate. This confidence must be a façade, she needed to be here, because her fighting style was not random, instead calculated.

"Ready to talk yet?" Blake said, cutting a small piece of raw tuna from the plate, "I can sit here all day long."

"Never! I'll never give into evil, not ones like the White Fang."

"Now why would you say such a thing?" Blake bit gently into the raw piece of tuna on her fork.

"Don't pretend like you don't know what your organization stands for," Ruby pointed her finger. "Human trafficking, drug trades, underground human fight rings, and worst of all terrorist attacks. You're just a bunch of thugs hiding behind a thinly veiled ideal of equality, when in reality you are no different from the crime families on the Assembly. The only thing special about you people is that you don't wear fancy suits and are more honest about your depravity."

"We are just doing what the glorious Seasons put us on this beautiful green Remnant to do," Blake glared down with her furious yellow eyes, chewing on the piece of meat. "Faunus are simply superior to humans in every single way possible. From the feline folks of Menagerie with their superior eyesight, superior night visions, to the powerful crustacean folks of South Mistral with their powerful and heavy armored exoskeleton. Or even just the chameleon people of Vacuo. It is decreed by Destiny that we Faunus kind must rule the world."

"At least you're honest here," Ruby wiped the blood off her lips. "I've seen plenty of dishonest White Fangs."

"As I said, I do not lie, nor do I have a reason to lie. Not here, not now. I do hope you have already written a will for your next of kin."

Blake snapped her finger, and instantly from the shadow right beneath the platform where she sat came flying the spinning blade. It was fast, faster than any bullet Ruby had ever encountered. It must have been due to the excessive force put in by how tight the leather straps were held in place. A lot of kinetic energy just waiting to be released.

Ruby managed to just barely dodge the blade this time, with it scratching the surface of her left calf. Moving just a few inches out of the way with this injury proved to take a tremendous amount of stamina.

"Just do us both a favor already and kill yourself," said Blake. "This is sad to watch, and I really don't want to clean up afterwards."

And yet…

Ruby simply replied with a smirk:

"The only thing here that needs to be cleaned will be your tea stain."

"What was that?"

"I've figured out where you're going to strike next. It is elementary."

"You're bluffing."

"You want to take on that bet?"

Ruby summoned forth her scythe, spinning it around before planting it firm down on the ground – aimed straight at the massive hole in the wall where she fell through earlier.

"I am so confident in my prediction that I bet you I can ricochet my bullet off your pistol for it to shatter that tea cup you're holding in your hand."

Blake glared down, slightly grimacing:

"You can't be serious."

"Draw your piece evildoer," Ruby smiled, loading a bullet into the chamber.

"You know this isn't a Western right? We aren't Vacuan cowboys."

"Are you scared… little kitty?"

And with that, Blake took a step back away from her seat, flinching at the girl's comment.

"How did you… what are you talking about?" Blake cried.

"I'm not stupid, you know? I can see your cat ears twitching beneath your bow from a mile away, it's that clear even in the dark. Who do you think you're fooling?"

Blake's lips twitched ever so slightly, desperately trying to keep her composure from falling apart, but Ruby picked up on that right away. And that was a sign towards victory, and a sign of hope, of good luck. Because what she said was a complete lie. She did not know beforehand that Blake was a cat Faunus. It was still a little too blurry to tell what kind she was. But this lucky guess will no doubt drive Blake nuts.

Silence befell the two of them, with both standing there firm in their place. Ruby's finger placed on the trigger of her rifle while Blake's fingers held on the tea cup with great resolve.

"_You're going to die here like a dog you stupid girl!_" Blake grunted, clenching her fist.

And thus from the corner of the warehouse just beneath a wooden beam flashed a glimmer of silver. That loud distinct snap of the metal echoed once more and from behind Ruby came the spinning pistol – furiously slicing deep into Ruby's left forearm, so deep in fact the entire gun just flew right through her entire arm, cutting huge chunks of flesh clean off.

"HA! Looks like you were just a bit too overconfident there you stupid girl! I'll be sipping my tea now – nice and slow."

And once more…

Ruby responded with a glaring smirk:

"You celebrate a little early there, sister. Because this was all part of my plan."

"WHAT?"

"Now that your gun has flown right through my forearm – I have the leather strip trapped right inside my flesh and bone. Your gun isn't going anywhere. I have your weapon right here in my grasp."

"_Don't you dare lay a single filthy finger on my gun!"_

"Too late."

With a swift twirl to wrap the leather around her arm, she yanked the spinning blade gun right out of its flying trajectory, pulling it right back into the palm of her hand. Blake's gun was effectively in her control now, no matter how long this leather rope thing stretched.

But instead of pulling the entire structure of her string trap down out of the shadow. Ruby, peculiarly, instead decided to chuck the gun forward – right toward the hole, where she was aiming her Crescent Rose.

And she pulled the trigger.

The loud explosion of the rifle was deafening, followed swiftly by the clanking of the metal clashing, the bullet ricocheting. Ending gloriously with the simple sound of ceramic shattering into a thousand pieces, and of course the sound of hot tea spilling over onto the ground.

Blake stood there in absolute shock. Stunned at what just happened. Not only because the tea cup was shattered, but also because of the bullet lightly grazing the tip of her lips – all because she wanted to sip the tea one moment too early.

The mark of a great Huntress was one who could adapt to the opponent and the environment. That was what Ruby's uncle had always taught her. The battle landscape was shifting, ever so slightly. Spinning Crescent Rose around Ruby planted the scythe down, now aiming towards the platform where Blake stood, still trembling from the shock.

"I still have plenty of bullets left to burn," Ruby shouted. "I really don't want to do this, but you've left me no choice. Either you release your string trap right now and let me go, or I break your knees. I won't kill you, but you won't be going anywhere for a while."

"You… won't… kill me?" Blake glared down with intense rage, insulted at the notion.

Ruby was prepared to just pull the trigger, her desperate brain pushing her through the bleeding to steady her aim. There was no way for Blake to dodge.

Unless…

Ruby never even managed to take the shot – due to a blade stabbing her right on the back of her left shoulder.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? There was only supposed to be one gun!"

But lo and behold, a second pistol, identical to the first, painted black with the leather strap tied at the handle. With its sharp blade lodged deep into Ruby's flesh.

"HOW?" Ruby cried, shivering in pain. "How is this possible?"

"I told you…" said Blake, grinding her teeth against each other. "Do not underestimate Gambol Shroud. This is my weapon's Ability. I call it Shadow. It is the ability to clone anything it touches."

In a desperate attempt, Ruby pulled the trigger with the rifle aimed directly at Blake's head. The bullet traveled swiftly and accurately despite the pain. It blasted open a hole right in the middle of Blake's temple, clear as day.

And yet for some reason there wasn't so much as a single drop of blood trickling out.

"I don't like repeating myself," said Blake. "Do not underestimate Gambol Shroud."

And emerging from the side of the girl – was a second Blake, one without a hole in her head.

It was all starting to come together now. The clone Ozpin back on the airship. This was all her doing. This trap she had sprung on the both of them may run deeper than Ruby first realized.

"In my hand I hold here the sheath of my blade, it is a part of the weapon, therefore I can still use its Ability," Blake held it up for Ruby to see, "I may not be able to summon too many clones due to limited Dust batteries. But two shall be enough to kill you for good right here, right now."

"Even if you are able to predict my next move," the Blake clone said. "At most you'll only be able to predict the movement from one of my pistols. The clone pistol itself will then hit its mark, that is a guarantee."

"But… how? I shot you… right in the head."

"It's a simple matter of how much Dust energy I put into making the clone," Blake explained. "This clone of myself is mainly here as a visual illusion. It cannot fight, nor is it solid matter. The pistol clone on the other hand, is as real as the original."

Ruby tried her best to hang onto Crescent Rose, desperately trying not to collapse from the blood lost and the pain. Serious head traumas from the landing, a big hole in her forearm, multiple bleedings on her legs, her ribs, and… everywhere else. This wasn't looking good.

"Time to die you stupid girl," Both Blake and her clone snapped their fingers, signaling the final attack of her string trap.

The sun had finally fully set down beneath the horizon, covering the entire warehouse in the eternal darkness of the dusk. It was now near impossible to tell the web of the leather strap from the shadows. They might as well be one and the same.

Two metal sound snapping in the corners of the warehouse, two pistols at two different angles, buried in this elaborate trap.

"END OF THE LINE!" Blake shouted, finally bursting out, "I hope you realize that your death is on you, I gave you plenty of chances. Now the White Fang will reign supreme. SHADOW SHROUD!"

"Is that so?" Ruby looked up, panting beneath her gloomy expression.

Knowing that there was no way to dodge or block this upcoming attack, Ruby finally decided then and there – she wouldn't even try to dodge.

The spinning blade came like lightning, the first lodging itself firmly onto Ruby's right shoulder, and the second aimed directly at the side of her neck, spurting out blood like a mighty majestic waterfall. It was a miracle that Ruby could even breathe at this point much less stand firm on her feet.

And yet here she was, with a burning resolve stronger than she had ever felt in her life.

She did not fight back, nor did she collapse from the blood lost. Instead, she got on Crescent Rose, and the wheel of the blade began to spin.

"What are you doing?" Blake stood back in shock, with a hint of fear. "You're supposed to be dead."

Ruby coughed out a mouthful of blood, spitting them to the side.

"You know what the word 'hubris' means?" She said. "Your mistake here today is showing me your cards before your time."

In a flash, Ruby pointed her finger at the girl, still trembling from the pain. She continued:

"I am going to be a Huntress, because those who are brave enough to step up and do the right thing even in the face of overwhelming evil are called _heroes_. I wish to honor all the heroes who have come before me, and pave a path for a new generation."

"What are you going on about?"

"This is my resolve! The resolve to see through the overwhelming odds and through your confidence, your hubris – I see there when you showed me the sheath for your sword. I see the black leather strap wrapping around your forearm. It is there no matter how many clones of you there are. This whole trap is incredibly intricate and expertly set up, that much is true. But this abandoned warehouse is old, its structure is weak. The wooden beams that are holding this web of strings won't be able to hold anything too heavy. It won't sustain against a strong enough pull, not even if you stick the leather onto the walls. The bricks are evidently old enough to be sliced with a well-placed cut."

"No, you… you're CRAZY?"

"I'm driving out of this place and dragging you with me whether you like it or not! I hope Lady Autumn has enough room for two in Hell."

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

With the last reserve of Dust Ruby had left in her pockets, she forcefully jammed all of it into the rifle's chamber. She had never had to use this much energy before. The machine was going to overheat for sure, it felt like it was going to burst any second now.

But the heat was nothing compared to the roaring of the rifle's engine, spinning the wheel like a furious divine tornado of the West.

At this point, Ruby's body was so numb she couldn't even feel the leather strap tugging on the pair of swords digging into her flesh. All she remembered before being blinded by the thick storm of flying debris was the loud snapping of the wooden platform Blake stood on collapsing right the moment she bolted out of the front gate.

She really hoped that the warehouse was truly abandoned and she wouldn't have to pay for any of the damages.

* * *

"Wow… the whole thing came down?" Ruby looked back to the mess she made.

She was mostly just banking on the platform above coming off, taking Blake with her outside. She didn't expect for all the wooden beams and columns to implode in on itself, too. How old was this building? She wondered, while slightly patting herself on the back for making demolitionists' jobs a lot easier. Though, that might just be the crazy in her talking.

Over just a stone's throw away was the massive pile of leather rope and stone debris piling on top of one another mixed with broken splinters everywhere, digging into the stone wall and the black leather strap all the same. Beneath this large pile was the Faunus girl, all stuck, trapped under the weight. With bruises all over her body while profusely bleeding out, not unlike Ruby herself.

Ruby walked up to the young girl with the last of her remaining stamina, trying to breathe steadily beneath all the layers of injuries. Casting an overwhelming shadow over the cat girl – for she had won the battle.

Blake flinched, trying to retreat beneath the pile of rubble the moment she laid eyes on Ruby standing over her. The calm demeanor and calculating façade had been broken off completely, now left with nothing but a scared and cowardly kitty.

"Please, don't kill me, I beg you," Blake cried, struggling to get free. "I can't die here… not here, not now!"

Ruby shook her head, with a faint smile underneath:

"That's a very difficult request to grant I'm afraid. You know all those hurtful things you said to me back there? All those little insults? That hurt my feelings you know? And I'm not a very forgiving person. _So prepare yourself evildoer. I, Red Rider, am about to kick you down to hell so hard you'll wish you were never born!"_

"No, STOP!" Blake scrambled about, "Stay away dammit! I said stay away! Don't come any closer! AHHHHHHHHHH!"

"I'm just messing with, ya," Ruby burst out laughing, followed instantly by a violent cough of blood, leaning heavily against the debris above Blake. "I don't think I can even slap you in my current state, much less kill you. No matter how much I would love to."

"_Not that I would allow you to kill her anyway."_

A familiar voice echoed from behind, forcing Ruby to spin her head. It was Headmaster Ozpin, what a surprise.

But the truly shocking thing here, though, was the fact that he was carrying with him that same bizarre black cat Ruby found on the airship, stroking its smooth fur back and forth.

"Wha… wh… what?" Ruby stammered. "That was YOUR cat? What on Remnant? I thought it was her cat?"

"What are you going on about?" Blake cried out in confusion, "I've never seen that thing before in my life."

"Well, I wouldn't say this is my cat exactly," Ozpin chuckled. "I stopped by the pet store to get something for Glynda when you were taking your nap. I can't stress enough how scary that woman will be when she finds out I borrowed her weapon."

Ruby stood there, with her jaw practically glued to the ground, still bleeding out like a water fountain. Followed by Ozpin's childlike cry of laughter. It was as if the two of them were in two completely different worlds.

"But in all seriousness," Ozpin wiped the joyful tears off his eyes. "This young lady here is a valuable asset that can be used to track down valuable information about the White Fang. I simply cannot let you terminate her just like that."

"You think I'll just do whatever you ask me at the snap of the finger just like that?" Blake cried.

"Hush now child, the adult is talking here," Ozpin smiled. "And you, Miss Rose, you have a clean record to keep. Having the death of several mobsters on your hands isn't something you want to announce to the world, nor something you want to keep on expanding, no matter how terrible those people have been. You are a Beacon student now. I expect you to act like it. You've done more than enough today, Miss Rose, and your effort has been noted, make no mistake about it. But in Season's name, please, get some rest. You have a big day ahead of you."

Ruby firmly saluted the Headmaster, or rather she did it as firm as she could, on the verge of passing out.

"Aye, aye, captain. I just… have one more question… Professor…"

"Yes?"

"Did you plan all of this, too? Blake here, the airship, the cat? Did you just want to test my Landing Strategy?"

Oz responded with a hearty chuckle:

"Perhaps…"

* * *

**AN:**** There are certain things about the canon show that I thought I'd like to change for this rewrite AU.**

**One of those things is the concept of Landing Strategy. It is something I wish to explore more, and surprised that wasn't really brought up again since V1.**

**The other thing is Blake's character.**

**On the surface there is the obvious change to her Ability, it's a small change but a change still. Instead of creating shadow clones to take hits for her, she instead has the ability to clone anything her weapon touches. Depending on the amount of Dust she uses it can be a tangible clone of an object with actual matter, or it'll just be a visual illusion.**

**But one thing that I really like to explore with the character is her cowardice. We first learn of this in V2 when she sat around a bonfire and just told us the audience how much of a coward she is. Here I like to have her show us that instead of just telling, by having her beg for her life at the end of the fight when her facade begins to break down.**

**And that's another thing about her character that I'm reworking, the facade. It never made much sense to me how Blake was supposedly in hiding in V1 with her bow disguising herself and yet she still walks around telling everybody her real name, despite the fact that her parents are supposed to be famous, being leader of the WF and all.**

**So here instead of someone who is just hiding in plain sight (without using a fake name for some reason) this Blake proclaims herself to be an honest person who does not lie. She tells people her real name, putting up this facade of confidence, hiding away things about herself she does not want people to know. Ugly things about her personality, either it be the cowardice, the disregard for human life, etc.**


	5. Yang vs Weiss Part 1

_This is the story of three bears and a young golden girl. Three bears who lived in peace in the heart of the woods, comfortable in their wooden cabin. Day in, day out, the father would chop the wood. The mother would cook the food. And the son would deploy his toys._

_Their days of peace were not to last however, for the day they decided to adopt a human girl lost in the woods was the day their lives changed forever. The girl was not of blood, nor was she destined for their blood. But still, the bears treated her like the daughter they never had, the little sister the son never knew. They were kind to her, was it a mistake?_

_By Spring of next year, the bears were no more – in their place a new family, a family for the young girl. A human father, a human mother, and a human younger brother._

_The girl was happy, at peace at last._

(Excerpts from Tales of Verna)

* * *

_[_… _reports of Dust shops and gun stores being robbed continue to flood in as crime rates skyrocket to an all-time high, a new record never before seen after ten long years of bills and legislations restricting underground criminal activities within the city of Vale. Authorities appointed by Councilman Henry Marigold under the jurisdiction of President Orr Adamantine is expected to be deployed shortly to patrol the streets and sweep up any evidence they can find of recent Roman Torchwick activities, who, through the last few days' shocking turn of events, has been seen resurfacing on the streets of Vale once more, seemingly back from the crime lord's supposed death at the hands of Godfather Ammol Malachite. Here with us now to elaborate on further details, the young Huntress in training, Ruby Rose, the very person who caught Torchwick and his men in the act, take it away, Ruby.]_

_[Thank you, Mrs. Viridi. I know this may be hard to believe, but it's true. Roman Torchwick is not dead. I have been tailing him and his men for an awful long time. Watching every movement, um… every… um… every waking hour, yeah… he may be keeping a low profile for now, with a lot of his men being put out of commission, but he is out there, the footage proves it. He is alive… and um… kicking.]_

_[Well there you have it, with capable Huntsmen and special agents such as these at the helm of the investigation, bringing in new evidence and suspects every day, it will no doubt only be a matter of time before this scourge of Vale is apprehended once and for all… in other news…]_

"That's my sister right there," Yang pointed her finger at the television screen, smiling ear to ear. "Oh, I'm so proud of her. She looks so cute, I can't wait to just smother her when I see her again."

"Um… what?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Yang glimpsed down the woman's name tag, "Ciel, I guess I should introduce you when we get the chance. She's usually pretty shy about meeting new people, but I've been pushing her and encouraging her lately and you can see it having an effect on her. She's been a lot more proactive, energetic. Did you know she likes to hide behind her little hood whenever she gets embarrassed? It's like the cutest thing in the world, let me see if I can find a picture of that on my scroll here, oh, would you look at that? The very first image right here, this one was the one we took before I left Patch, this one here is me bringing her some cake to celebrate her birthday a little early, since I was leaving on this trip, and I wouldn't have been able to make it to the party. Though come to think of it, if I finish early today, I might be able to make it after all, maybe stop by the gift shop to buy something nice for her, too. What do you think?"

"Look, as much as I like to sit here and chat all day, I still have a job to do," said the receptionist. "So… why are you here again?"

"Whoops," Yang scratched her head. "I guess I got carried away, huh? Ha-ha. I'm here to apply for Beacon Academy."

"Come again?"

"You know, Beacon. That one big school for Huntsmen. You see these big muscles here?" Yang flexed her arms, "These were made to kill Grimm. They go hungry if they don't see any action."

"Have you got the appropriate paperwork?"

"What do you mean?" Yang grinned.

"You… do realize that most people often apply to these Academies months, if not years in advance, right? These processes are not simple, and the waitlist is very long. Everybody is very competitive against one another."

"Heh, well I suppose I'm just not most people."

Said Yang, as she revealed from the leather satchel on her shoulder – a frozen Grimm arm, of which she just casually plopped onto the counter of the receptionist. It was from a Beowulf, and a large one at that, probably around twice if not three times Yang's size. Its black fur and dark blood were perfectly frozen by the Dust syringe that funnily enough looked as if it was applied by a 3-year-old. It was hard for Ciel to believe something so expertly done could come from someone so… burly, so clumsy looking.

"What's this supposed to be?" Ciel poked her pen onto the frozen flesh.

"You know how much I had to go through just to get this one arm here? Dust ain't cheap these days you know? But that's beside the point."

"And what is the point?"

"The point here is that I took down a massive Beowulf all by my lonesome self. It was actually a whole pack of them, I counted twelve," Yang began posing with her muscles. "And as far as I'm concerned, that should be more than enough to prove my worth as a Huntress. I'm obviously more than qualified to get a little exception here."

"Yes, and if a spoiled rich child walked in here with a pouch of cash it would be reasonable then to make him into a Huntsman, too, correct?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look," Ciel sighed. "We have a system in place here. Every student who applied here must go through weeks if not months of vigorous training and examinations just to even get considered to be on the waitlist. The system is designed to ensure quality selections and fairness among the trainees. It is designed to prevent people from unfairly reaching places of power by simply throwing a pile of cash in their way."

"Not sure I follow you."

"Let me put it this way. How do I know you didn't just buy this Grimm arm off some back-alley business deal? What proof do you have that you were the one who defeated all these Grimm creatures?"

"Aw, come on, you're going to pull that on me? Have you seen my sister on the news?" Yang pointed to the television. "I just got word that she's been accepted into Beacon through exceptional skills and records, and also the fact that she was the one who apprehended a bunch of criminals or something and all that stuff. Fighting is in our blood. If you people are going to accept her, then you should accept me, too."

"I'm sorry, but rules are rules. There's nothing I can do about it, even if I wanted to."

"I guess you leave me no choice," Yang took a deep breath, sighing dramatically. "I invoke trial by combat."

Her voice echoed all around the building, catching everybody's attention even with the television blasting on high volume. People from all walks of life were giving her funny looks, from the students going through some interviews to businessmen sitting by waiting for time to pass.

"What did you just say?" Ciel asked.

"Article 3, section 7 of the Valean Constitution – any man, woman worth the salt of their farm, who are able and willing to take up arms against the monsters of the lands shalt be given to fight a Valean Knight. Should the Knight to fall, this man or woman shalt be given a title of equal value."

Ciel's mouth were wide open, stunned at this muscle head reciting ancient laws.

"What?" Said Yang, "I'm not an idiot."

"You… do realize what this means… don't you?"

"Here's form 1304-H to get everything in order," Yang handed her the paper, turning her back to walk away.

"This still needs to be signed."

Yang turned her head, smirking beneath her golden hair:

"Way ahead of ya."

There on the counter the Grimm arm began to shake, with its grizzly hairy claws tapping on the marble surface, peculiarly – crawling towards the pen placed next to the piles of paperwork. It wriggled around like a worm crawling beneath the earth looking for its bearings. But this horrid hunk of flesh was skillful, slotting the pen right between its bony fingers like that of a human. Then just proceeded to scrawl Yang's signature on the paper while simultaneously spilling black goo all over the place, so much so that it was near impossible to tell the black blood from the wet ink.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!" Ciel jumped from her counter, completely baffled.

Yang remained unconcerned still, as she walked towards the entrance – with a huge grin crawling on her face.

* * *

"I FEEL INVINCIBLE!" Yang shouted, raising both arms in the sky. Letting her leather duster fly with grace and strength. This girl was young, but she was strong, stronger than most, and would not sit still even for five seconds. This was what the name Xiao Long meant to her – strength. And she wore it as her badge of honor.

"Hold up, slow down!" Ciel followed shortly behind, holding her clipboard, furiously scribbling through the paperwork as she struggled to catch her breath.

"Do you read any comics?" Yang turned her muscular body to the side, almost bumping into the petite receptionist, "There's a general store not far from here, I think they sell some comics behind their newspaper shelves. I want to catch the latest issue of the Yellow Jacket."

"What are you babbling on about?"

"She's a superhero you see," Yang smiled, "she's tough, no nonsense, and she's just hella cool. I even bought this leather coat when I was browsing through one of the merch catalogues. Though it's kind of cheaply made, they forgot the sleeves. But eh, this look ain't too shabby. She also has a sleeveless outfit during one of the spinoff stories. I had to reinforce all this with Mistralian Leather anyway, so it's still a win."

"I didn't really understand any of that, but you're going to be meeting your challenger in the combat halls. So don't go wander off now, you hear?"

"Aww, I can't pick my opponent?"

"I'm sorry, but no. It has to be an appointed representative of the school. Someone skilled enough to conduct the examination. Preferably a teacher or a second-year student. Third or fourth-year shall also be considered."

"Lead the way then beautiful," Yang winked. "What say you and I go grab a bite after this to celebrate my victory?"

"Ms. Xiao Long, please. This is a professional work environment. Please remember to uphold the standards of a Beacon student, even if you are not one officially yet."

"Come on, give it some thought. What's the worst that could happen?"

"_Yang?"_

Out from the corner of Yang's eyes, there she stood in front of the vast field of airships descending from the sky – her sister Ruby Rose.

How long had it been since the two of them last saw each other? Weeks? Months? Ruby left Patch to track down Roman not long after Yang left. It was a little surreal, too. Seeing her here right after catching her on the news. Though she wasn't wearing her usual combat outfit, instead now donning the standard Beacon student uniform. That dark red jacket worn over white shirt underneath with the red plaid skirt. She didn't even tie her collar ribbon right.

Was this a coincidence? To bump into her sister so soon?

In the end Yang cared little of it, because all she had on her mind was how hard she was squeezing Ruby in her embrace. Feeling her warmth after all this time.

"RUBY!" She shouted, shaking her head within her arms, shaking back and forth. "It's so good to see you. Oh my god, I can't believe it. You're going to get a kick out of this, I really, REALLY can't believe this."

"Yang, please, I can't breathe…"

"How's my little baby sister doing these days, huh?" Yang asked while giving her a hard noogie. "I saw you on the news, sis. Right back there in that office a few minutes ago funny enough."

"You did?" Ruby pulled down her hood over her face. "It wasn't that big a deal really."

"Come on now, it's a huge deal," Yang laughed. "It feels like it was only yesterday when you were so little and cute and now you're out here in the real world, all grown up. Brings tears to the eyes, ya know?"

"You're embarrassing me," Ruby shoved her sister as her cheeks turned red.

"Just let me have this moment. It's been so long since I left. I haven't slept in a real bed since… probably months now."

"What do you mean? Did you not apply into the dorms? Or are you renting an apartment some place downtown?"

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… I mean," Yang scratched her head, "details am I right? What are details? What paperwork? Nobody said anything about paperwork, what's the date today? I wonder… hehe…"

"Yang?" Ruby raised her eyebrow, staring as Yang kept on twiddling her thumbs.

It did not take long before Yang finally gave in, lowering her head. Followed shortly by her long sigh of defeat:

"I… um… may or may not have forgotten to fill out my applications."

"WHAT?"

"This is my job now," Ciel grumbled, "dealing with this."

"I swear," Yang began sweating buckets, giggling like an idiot, "I was going to turn them in. But um… uh… the Beowulf ate it. Yeah, that's right."

"Yang," Ruby tensed up, glaring at her with a pair of serious eyes, not of anger, but solemn sadness. "Are you… secretly trying to catch Roman on your own?"

Yang's cheerful smile stayed strong, but twitched ever so slightly. A detail the ordinary person would most likely miss. But Ruby was her sister, they were nearly of the same age. She knew her better than anybody.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yang, be honest," Ruby began tensing up. "You're… trying to find out what happened to mom… aren't you?"

The blonde's smile disappeared, just like that at a snap of a finger. Her eyes flickered a red glint, but she still stood strong, composed.

"And you're not?"

"No, no!" Ruby cried. "I mean… yes, yes! Of course, I'm still looking. But… I told you once before, Yang. Roman isn't going to give you any answers. Nor will Godfather Malachite or any of the other families on the Assembly. They're bad news."

"Then why on Remnant are you even going after Roman? I thought… after all this time… I thought we were looking for the same thing."

"I am, I am," she repeated. "But… but…"

"But what?"

Ruby's hands began to shake, but she clenched her fists still and pushed on:

"But mom was a hero. That's all I need to know. And I want to be a hero, too."

Yang stared at her sister, unblinking. Gazing at her with a pair stone cold eyes, not that of disappointment, anger, or even sadness. Just… empty indifference. But Ruby could tell she was trying to hide things from within, and that serious expression hid it well.

"_Was?"_ She asked Ruby.

"Come on. You know I didn't mean… I don't…"

Yang sharply turned her back without a second thought, a decisive motion that told Ruby everything she needed to know about her mood. Ruby felt horrible, fiddling nervously with her thumbs and fingers, nearly breaking into tears. She reached out to her sister, grabbing on her shoulder.

"Yang…"

Only for Yang to shove her aside with a powerful swing. All she intended was to push Ruby off, but with her strength, it was enough to send her flying, enough to feel that twinge on Ruby's shoulder – almost as if it was a strike, or a punch – at the spot where she forced her off.

"Go home, Ruby," she said. "Winter is cruel, she is terrible, she takes people to the afterlife when their time comes. But for me, Winter took the wrong mom."

This was the arrow that pierced Ruby's heart. To beat her down with the reality of their family, one that was soaked in pain, betrayal, and broken pieces. The implication was obvious once one realized these two sisters were only months apart in age while not being twins. Their blood was thick – but not thick enough.

But then, bizarrely…

"_EXCUSE ME?"_

In the distance far, a sharp shriek could be heard loud enough to turn heads. And thus behold – the Heiress Weiss Schnee herself, in her usual white combat skirt, with her rapier hanging by her hip. Ruby could tell she was annoyed by the grimace on her face.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Yang asked.

"Oh, no, no, no. I'm the one asking the questions here," Weiss wagged her finger. "I must have misheard you, but I could've sworn you have just said something along the lines of '_Winter is cruel, and terrible'_ or something of the kind?"

"Aren't you that one Heiress I see on TV?" Yang tilted her head, but still remained in silent rage. "Either way, I don't mean to be rude, but it's not exactly any of your business, you…"

"Don't give me that now," Weiss cut her off. "You made it my business when you badmouthed my sister, Winter Schnee. I won't have her name be thrown around just like that."

"Oh," Yang chuckled, holding up her arms in defense, "you definitely misheard me. I'm sorry. I wasn't actually referring to your sister or anything. I was talking about Winter, you know? One of the Seasons?"

"Well… my apologies then," Weiss bowed her head, "forgive me for lashing out against what looked like a violent reaction." To Yang's surprised, she began reaching her hand down to Ruby, helping her to stand up on her feet.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yang squinted her eyes.

"Listen to me," Weiss declared, "I won't have you lay a finger on Ruby Rose here. Family or not, I will not condone unjust violence of any kind."

"What are you? Some kind of lawyer?" Yang smirked. "It's rude enough to barge into other people's business uninvited. And now you're lecturing me on what's right and wrong?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," Weiss began stepping to her face, unafraid despite the clear height difference favoring Yang.

"Why?"

"Because Ruby…" Weiss looked to her side, feeling a little reluctant still, but pushed on with a sigh regardless, "Ruby is a person with resolve. It is a righteous strength that I can… respect. So to see her be mistreated would be one of the greater wrongs."

Under her red hood, Ruby smiled ever so slightly.

"Pfft," Yang burst out laughing, "what are you? President of her fan-club or something? Or better yet… her girlfriend?"

"NO!" Both Ruby and Weiss simultaneously shouted, with Ruby blushing while Weiss remained confident and determined.

"Fighting Ruby here made me realize something important," Weiss contemplated. "I am not ready. Because if I cannot beat her in combat, one who has not even graduated Beacon yet, then I have no chance against Roman and his family. So I can't have you go and catch that criminal scum before I do. I won't allow it."

"And who's going to stop me? You?" Yang cracked her knuckles, "A win over my little sister isn't that impressive, you know? I beat her all the time when we sparred. But you didn't even win, did you? Said so yourself."

Weiss's elegant finger began tapping on the hilt of her rapier, still tied to her waist. The metal clanking from her finger was not like any ordinary tap. Instead, it sounded like a cog within a clock, perfectly consistent and firm, almost echoing with every beat.

"Weiss, please," Ruby gently tugged on her sleeve, "you don't have to do this. I don't want us to make a scene."

"I'm not doing this for you, Ruby," said Weiss. "I'm doing this for me."

"Go home, Ruby," Yang repeated. "Looks like my Beacon entrance exam is starting soon."

"WHOA, whoa, whoa, whoa," Ciel cried out from behind, "cease this at once, Miss Xiao Long. You are in no circumstances allowed to engage in combat, least of all out here in public. All combat and training sessions are to be conducted within designated areas of the school, under strict teacher supervision."

"Come on," Yang smirked, still locking eyes against Weiss. "This'll kill two birds with one stone. A pretty little songbird."

"STOOOOOOP!" Ciel shouted. "You are not allowed to choose your opponent. Your trial by combat must be assigned by a representative official!"

"_What if this representative official was the one in charge?"_

A soft voice emanated from behind, commanding their heads to spin around. In front of the bright light of the airships and the furious wind stood the tall Professor Ozpin. In his hand – his trusty cane, and fluttering around his neck, his green scarf. Where did he come from? Ruby wondered. She did not hear any footsteps beforehand.

"Professor Ozpin!" Ciel shrieked. "Where did you… um, my apologies, sir. I did not see you there."

"It's quite alright, my dear," he said. "I would still like you to sanction this fight regardless, if you don't mind."

"But Professor, the protocol…"

"Can and shall be overridden with special exceptions," he declared proudly. "There has been a significant surge of special circumstances as of late. To say it is the work of Destiny herself or merely a coincidence, we cannot say for sure. Regardless, guidelines and rules are meant as a path for people to follow. But sometimes the landscape will shift, the guidelines would then be made obsolete, so we must follow suit."

"Professor…"

"No more words of this, I hereby approve of the status of this trial by combat, invoked by the name of the Valean Constitution, Article 3, section 7."

"OZPINNNNNNNNN!" A woman's voice burst out from one of the school's towers far in the distance, across courtyards, across airship fields, where one of the classrooms must be. Ozpin reacted as if a bomb had just detonated right by his ear, on edge and prepared to take cover.

"Uh oh," he mumbled. "That's Glynda. She must be watching me from way over there. Get on with the trial now you two. I um… I gotta run."

"Heh," Yang smiled, pounding both her fists together, "with pleasure."

From Weiss's perspective it looked as if time was grinding to a halt, with the blonde's fist slowly but surely reaching towards her face. A thousand alarm bells were furiously ringing within her brain, especially the moment Yang's small yellow metallic wristbands – of which Weiss didn't even notice before – began unravelling out into its complex machinery, cogs turning, metal shifting, before finally forming into a pair of gauntlets that engulfed both her forearms.

So, this was her weapon – a heavy pair of gauntlets, with a gun barrel on each peeking out from underneath, just above her fist.

To everybody observing by the side, that being Ruby and Ciel – who were still reeling from the bizarre turn of events from the convenient appearance of Professor Ozpin – the sound of the shot guns bursting out of Yang's gauntlet was devastating, like a crackle from fireworks.

But to Weiss, who got lost deep in thought, wondering what Yang's ability was, she barely had time to even register the sharp pain of the fist colliding against her jaw.

"HEYA!" Yang cried as she launched the Heiress across the airship field.

Her lips were bloodied, no doubt about it. Not to mention the bruise she got from landing on the hard concrete, cracking the ground itself. Was this Yang's ability? Weiss wondered. Mere super strength? Couldn't be. If it was, then how did she make her stand completely still? Weiss knew she would rarely ever freeze in high pressure situations, she was too experienced for that, so it must be a part of her ability. Did it involve ice in some way?

Because if it did – then Weiss would definitely take that as an insult.

"Come on, princess," Yang taunted. "You talked some big game earlier, yeah? Show me then."

The bruise on her head was beginning to burst open, trickling down her face over her eyes and her scar. She thought about the events that led up to this point, wondering about the idiocy that compelled her to get herself involved. Was this fate? She wondered.

What a terrifying thought that would be.

But it did not matter, for she clenched her fist soaked in blood, glaring at the muscular girl approaching her. She knew then that even if Destiny had not directed her, she would still hate this bombastic carefree attitude the moment they were to cross paths. And crossing paths seemed inevitable, sooner or later.

She splattered the blood right onto the ground.

Yang dashed in closer, preparing to swing her fist once more.

But this time Weiss swung her hand back in kind. Bizarrely she had yet to draw her rapier from her hip. But this was all a part of her plan – to splatter the blood all over Yang's face.

"What's this?" Yang began blinking rapidly, "Are you trying to distract me?"

To which she received no immediate answer, as Weiss had seemingly vanished into thin air, just mere moments before Yang's fist could connect once more.

"WHAT?"

A shiny glint exposed itself from the corner of Yang's eyes, and there right on the concrete where Weiss tossed her blood aside, within the reflective surface of the liquid – she stood within, arms folded, eyes closed into deep concentration.

"What the bloody hell?" Yang cried.

"I could already read your movements and capabilities more than you realize," said Weiss. "From my fight with Ruby, and from your comment boasting of your victories over your sister during sparring sessions. I may not know what your Ability is, but I know that someone as sharp as Ruby could not in a million years lose to a brute like yourself… unless – she was purposefully going easy, because you are _family._ I can read you like a book. You are undisciplined, you have no strategy. But I – I have become a lot stronger since my last battle."

At the speed of light, she latched herself onto a path straight ahead into the reflection on the blood splattered on Yang's face, just as she calculated. Her blade shall slash at her cheek right before disappearing into the surface of the blood. It will be too fast for her to react; the quick draw was an art form that Weiss had practiced day in and day out.

And her Myrtenaster should've been stuck deep inside Yang's face, digging into her skull. All logic dictated it to be so.

So why on Remnant's green earth was Yang's left gauntlet blocking the rapier from even touching her skin?

Weiss's body was stuck deep inside the reflective blood dripping off Yang's face, with Weiss's arm on the other hand sticking out of the liquid holding up her blade as if her arm were ten times bigger than her body. Weiss smartly realized this was not a position she wanted to be in, because striking her exposed arm right now would be incredibly easy and damaging. So she swiftly darted off of Yang's face, returning to the real world with her body intact, dashing away into a safe distance.

"What are you two doing? Stop right now!" Ciel shouted from the distance, then immediately yanked on Ruby's cape, "She's your sister is she not? Tell her to stop! Tell your friend to stop, she's going to stab your sister."

"I don't worry too much about Yang," said Ruby. "She's a tough cookie. Even though neither of us have been able to defeat our dad, Yang inherited much more from him than I ever did. She is strong, stronger than you can imagine. That's why I worry for Weiss. I worry… she won't be able to keep up with her speed."

"What do you mean?" Ciel asked.

"Weiss's weapon Ability allows her to travel between reflections at the speed of light. A speed so fast that not even she herself could control it without accurately calculating the precise trajectory of her path. It's useful in covering large distances, but it lacks control. Which is almost the exact opposite of Yang's fighting style. She may not be as fast, but she could dish out larger quantities of damage at closer ranges."

"I… still don't follow."

"Do you know how many punches Yang can throw within a second?"

Ciel shook her head.

"Well, it's not as many nor as fast as my dad… but the last time she broke her old record – she managed to reach 307 punches per second."

"WHAT?" Ciel cried.

"They are infinitely slower than light speed, but their quick burst of damage will hit you like a truck."

And there, just as Weiss and Yang stared each other down, both wielding their weapons, they gave each other one final unblinking glare before dashing towards one another. Exploding at the opposition with a flurry of sword strikes colliding against the metal gauntlet, each attack meeting head on like two colliding cars. Except in this case the cars were miniature, and they were moving at speeds faster than the eye could track. Clashing with the power of echoing steel, ringing like the church bell while Yang simultaneously barraged Weiss with her battle cry:

"HEYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!"

To be continued…

* * *

**AN: Yang is a character that I actually think is fine in concept the way she was introduced in the canon show. The biggest problem is their priority with the character. Favoring screen time for Jaune instead of one of the four main girls in V1 is a bizarre choice to say the least. I try to avoid doing that, focusing on the four main girls as the true main characters of this first part of the story.**

**Furthermore, modern day Yang seems to have lost that sense of family introduced in V1-2, the girl that once considered Summer Rose her "supermom" now for some reason only calls Raven her mom (a woman who was never there). It's nonsensical if I'm being frank. And I am not a fan. Yang in this version of this AU does not consider Raven her mother. And she will never call her anything other than her name "Raven".**

**Another big change in this version is the age gap between her and RWBY. Yang here still serves as the big sister archetype. But I've never been a big fan of Ruby being 15 and being accepted into Beacon so early. It gives off this "Sue-ish" vibe that just makes her a little too special. The Silver Eyes made things even worse of course.**

**But the sisters being near the same age here allows for some disturbing implications about their family, implications about their father and mothers which I think would allow room for a lot of interesting conflict down the line.**

**Some extra nugget. Two minor characters are name dropped in this chapter, Henry Marigold and Ciel, who are both so minor and insignificant in the canon show that I think it'd be cool to repurpose them here and give them something to do, and a little more personality.**


	6. Weiss vs Yang Part 2

**_11 years ago…_**

In a little forest just north of a small village, not too far from Signal Academy, there lied a small wooden cabin. Many of the locals knew the family that lived in this humble abode. They would often worry for them. The forest was infested with Grimm, they would say. But time and time again, Taiyang Xiao Long and his beloved wife Summer Rose would assure the villagers that there was no cause for concern. Not out of arrogance or confidence in their skills, per se.

But rather out of their love for one another. For they knew, as long as they had each other to depend upon, not even Death herself would dare claim their lives.

Though, it may be more accurate to say as long as they had their children to fight for…

"When will you be back, mommy?" Yang tugged at her mother's white cape.

Under the ghostly shadow of the white hood – was the smile of an angel.

"Yang dear," she said, "as long as you know your way back home, as long as you can count the rocks by the side of these roads – I'll always be by your side."

"I… I love you, mom," she jumped onto Summer, wrapping her arms around her neck.

"I love you, too, my little dragon. Now go fetch your sister for me. I want to see her before I leave."

Her smile never wavered, no matter how much the shadows tried to hide it away.

But that was the tragedy of it all, for Yang knew she would often not share that smile with their father. Not as much as she used to all those years ago. From the photos of their youth, their blooming romance, the two were old friends for decades before they married. Yang could only speculate what had happened. But more importantly, what she feared most of all was losing that smile, fearing that one day her mother would no longer smile at the sunny little dragon.

Because of how much she reminded Summer of their father.

But the white angel did not share as much resemblance with the sunny yellow dragon. The angel blessed the earth to bloom forth a red rose, and that red rose was a splitting image of the angel's white ghostly visage.

Summer loved them both, because both Yang and Ruby were her daughters.

So why? Why did it hurt so much to see Ruby alongside their mother? Yang asked herself.

What was this feeling of jealousy? It was difficult to say.

"Goodbye, my children," the angel waved from afar. "I'll be back soon. Give your father my regards."

Yang hurried to the front entrance to see her off, both children waving their hands as she slowly disappeared behind the woods.

"What did she tell you, Ruby?" Yang asked.

And Ruby simply responded:

"She told me she loves me, and to look after you."

* * *

**_Present day…_**

To fight at the top level of combat was to have the stamina necessary to survive. But survival was basic for those too skilled for ordinary people, too skilled for even regular Huntsmen. At this point, stamina alone just could not cut it.

What they needed was resolve.

The will to keep on fighting in this battle of attrition. And there was little doubt about it – Weiss and Yang were deadly experts on this front.

With every strike countering one another, every punch, every sword stab. Each meeting head on, with neither being able to break through the other's wall of defense.

"HEYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!"

Yang's battle cry was certainly hard for Weiss to concentrate. She could barely hear herself think. She knew she hated the blonde's bombastic personality, but she didn't think it would be nigh impossible to figure out what her Ability was.

Weiss had yet to land even a single hit, and that was what had been bothering her. It made sense for someone as strong as Yang to block a couple of hits. But all of them? Weiss simply refused to believe Yang was that precise and that skilled, not someone like her. It must be the work of her Ability. But what was it?

"I'm impressed," Yang smirked as the barrage of punches raged on, "you're still keeping up with me. Not many people can do that."

"Tch," Weiss began grinding her teeth together.

"HEYA!" Yang lunged forth, going for a double forward thrust punch, joining her fists together to form a sort of battering ram of sort with how fast and forceful she was moving. Weiss knew that her single-handed rapier would not be able to withstand the power of two of these massive metal gauntlets at once. So instead of taking the full blunt of the punch, Weiss retreated to a safer distance, once again at a standoff.

"You're pretty good… Ice Queen," Yang commented. "My fists feel a little chilly. You're using Ice Dust? Aren't you?"

Weiss proceeded to spit out a mouthful of blood, wiping off her lips before grunting:

"What is it to you?"

"I just think it's interesting is all," she shrugged. "Grimm are immune to Ice Dust, so it's mostly useless in combat. But instead are more commonly used for field medics and researchers looking to preserve some Grimm samples."

"You're sharper than you look."

"What can I say? I learn fast," Yang smirked. "It's been bothering me, though. I just couldn't figure out why you're using Ice Dust. Until I realized what your weapon's Ability is. The ability to travel between reflective surfaces. What a powerful and terrifying tool."

Weiss yanked forth from her Dust pouch an Ice Dust crystal, crushing it with nothing but the strength of her grip – and thus the crystal burst into a huge handful of ice shards and gemstones, scattering all around her.

"I tell you what," said Yang. "I'm going to be courteous this round. I'm going on full defense now," she then pointed towards her cheek, before winking at Weiss, "see if you can land a hit on me."

And that instinctively lit up a fire in Weiss's eyes. Enough for her to fling all the ice shards towards Yang to form a dome around her. Yang was now surrounded by these miniature mirrors. Weiss deduced there to be no feasible way for her to guard against her attacks while in this position. Even if she could defend her torso area, there was no way she could reach for certain blind spots in lower areas, especially those coming from behind. And to reach lower to parry the attacks with her gauntlet would leave her upper areas exposed to an attack.

Without a moment to waste, Weiss attached herself onto a light path with her glyphs, and it sent her flying straight towards the ice shards. They lit up brilliantly the moment the light beams touched their smooth surface, shining like diamonds in the sky.

"Knowing my Ability won't do you much good," said Weiss. "It is useless – useless! You are surrounded."

And yet, despite all that, beneath her golden glowing hair – Yang continued to smirk.

There, an echo of clashing steel vibrated for all to hear. No mistake about it – the rapier once again could not make contact with Yang's skin, not even close enough to graze the leather of her coat. With her mighty gauntlet holding up the blade away as Weiss exited one of the ice shards placed above the blonde's head.

What on Remnant was this Ability? Weiss wondered to herself.

Still not giving up, she decided to try again, and again. Entering in a different ice shard, then coming back out aiming at a different angle, over and over and over again as the light beams zigzagged all around Yang's body. And yet, each time she exited a mirror, thrusting her sword forward, she would feel nothing but the sturdy solid surface of the metal gauntlet. Perfect parries with every single strike.

Weiss realized it was hopeless to try to penetrate her defenses any further, so in the midst of traveling between the shards, she yanked out another Ice Dust crystal, quickly crushing it before tossing straight into a far distance away from this ice dome. Retreating to a safe distance to give herself breathing space was crucial to formulate a better strategy.

"Oh no you don't!" Yang cried. Before instantly grabbing onto Weiss's left leg, right the moment before Weiss could attach herself onto another light beam.

And the result?

Weiss had gained herself an unwanted stowaway, with the two of them being dragged along by the glyph pulling them forth to the next mirror at the speed of light. Weiss could clearly see Yang being disoriented as this was the first time she had to deal with this kind of speed, and yet despite all that – her grip on Weiss's leg remained firm.

"Let go, you yellow mongrel!" Weiss attempted to kick Yang off with her heels, landing a couple of good hits on her face without her parrying this time. The light speed must be disorienting enough for her to not react accordingly.

Weiss raised her foot and was prepared to slam down her face once more, but this time only to be met with Yang finally coming to her senses and grabbing onto her other heel.

"That hurt, you know," said Yang, as blood began dripping down her lower lip and her nose. "I'm impressed, you landed a hit."

Before they knew it, their struggle forced the two of them off the glyph and out of the light beam, back into the real world. But now free falling off from the airship field, pulled down by gravity from the floating school of Beacon back down to the city thousands of miles away. Basically, falling off a cliff – Yang never thought the day would come. Neither of them would be able to survive at this ridiculous height. The school was built as a place unreachable by normal means, exiting it like this was simple, the only condition to be met was to survive the fall.

Weiss knew she had to act fast if she wanted to live, but Yang's stubbornness continued to be a great nuisance, grabbing even tighter onto Weiss as they fell, continuously giving the heiress a series of rapid punches to the face. It made it hard to concentrate with every blow at least cracking a tooth or fracturing her jaw ever so slightly. But in the end, she finally managed to identify a clear enough path to shoot a gravity glyph onto. There right underneath the edge of the floating platform were some ledges they could potentially grab onto. She swiftly shot the glyph off without a moment to spare, for she knew the limited range of her Myrtenaster, only capable of firing glyphs far enough to compare to a typical Dust rifle.

The glyphs just barely managed to hit the lower plates of the ledges, if they had fallen any further Weiss doubted it would even make contact. But it did, and now she was being pulled upward at an incredible speed, not exactly light speed like if she were to attach herself to a light path, but fast enough to get the job done.

It was, however, slow enough for Yang to continue hanging onto Weiss's leg like a stubborn mule. And immediately, the blonde began winding up her other arm, and the click of the gauntlet's gun trigger was clear enough for Weiss to notice. A bullet firing at this range would surely be fatal, so she braced herself, prepared to predict the bullet path and parry it.

"Wrong move, Heiress," Yang shouted as they were being yanked upwards, "block this!"

And to Weiss's absolute shock – the gauntlet did not fire a single round, instead it violently spitted out pellets, because it was a shotgun. Weiss foolishly did not anticipate this.

But she was still sharp enough to concoct a backup plan, instead of attempting to parry all the individual pellets, she decided to summon forth a gravity glyph in front of her using the hilt of her sword to shield away the incoming projectiles. It stopped them dead in their tracks and instantaneously reflected them back to its original user.

Unfortunately, however, Yang was still swift enough to parry every single one of those pellets using her one gauntlet, preventing even a single projectile from even touching her. This Ability of hers was really getting on Weiss's nerves, for she still had a hard time figuring out its mechanics.

"YANG!" Ruby shouted from above, standing just right at the edge, "WEISS! Are you two alright?"

"I'm… I'm fine, Ruby," Yang shouted back, still hanging onto Weiss's leg as her rapier dangle back and forth under the sticking glyph above their heads.

"You two need to stop this madness," Ciel shouted. "I know the fight is technically sanctioned, by I don't want to have to be the one to deal with this. We can reschedule for a proper fight in a proper arena."

"No can do," Yang shouted. "I will be attending Beacon on the first day of school. I don't want any delays. I'm passing this exam no matter what. And there's nothing you can do to stop me, Heiress!"

"I can kick you down right here," said Weiss, still trying her hardest to hang onto the dangling rapier. "That's a pretty long fall, might even reach terminal velocity. You think you can survive that?"

"This is the weirdest standoff I've ever been a part of," said Yang.

But then far off in the distance, quietly beneath the layers of wind and thick clouds, both Weiss and Yang began picking up faint sounds of something… unnatural. Ruby quickly noticed, too. Taking a step back from the edge, instinctively shielding Ciel away from the distant echoing sound. There was something strange flickering in the clouds faraway, but Ruby couldn't quite make out what it was.

"Did… did you see that?" Yang asked Weiss.

But the Heiress did not reply, for the slow horror that crept up her face was beginning to petrify her every thought and movement, when the sight of giant black feathers began to emerge from the clouds far away, hiding behind the furious wind and the thick weather – a thunderstorm was brewing, lightning struck with furious anger behind the mighty wings of a gigantic Nevermore Grimm, a massive bird monster with wings spanning a small farm.

Behind the monster, emerged several other Grimm flying beneath its massive feathers, smaller Nevermores easily the size of a small airship. There their red eyes glowed bright and their shriek pierced the very heavens.

"GRIMM INCOMING!" The school's soldiers on the airships shouted from afar, just as the alarm bells began ringing far in the distant towers. New students just boarding the school grounds were hastily retreating into the big halls inside, fearing their inexperience will cause them to fall in battle, while the third and fourth years began arming themselves. Rapidly shoving Dust down into their spears, their armors, their swords.

"Hey, you there!" One of the fourth years shouted at Ruby and Ciel, wielding his rifle, "Are you a freshman? If so get back inside now. Escort civilians and non-Huntsmen personnel off the premises and into the bunkers below. Move!"

"But my sister," Ruby cried. "And Weiss."

"We need to go now," Ciel pulled Ruby away, "we'll get help and come back for your sister later."

"Weiss, let go of your sword!" Yang cried, still dangling below.

"Quiet!" She snapped back. "I'm trying to think."

"I'm serious, let go now, or we're both going to die!"

"What can you possibly do in this situation?" Weiss cried. "Letting go right now would be very useful if you're the only one doing it. What's your Landing Strategy?"

"Just trust me on this, alright? Let go now, or I blow off your leg!"

Weiss's eyebrows winced ever so slightly, Yang could tell she wanted to spit on her face from up there. But Weiss began to come to her senses and finally decided to give the burly girl a chance. If she were to fail, Weiss was still confident in her reaction to fire another glyph to pull themselves back up.

And so – she let go of the gravity glyph, and they fell.

But Yang was still quick to react, wasting no time for them to even fall an inch below the ledge before firing her gauntlet straight downward to where they were falling. It looked stupid at first to Weiss, but she quickly felt the force of the recoil pushing the both of them upward ever so slightly, working directly against the power of gravity.

It wasn't enough, however. So Yang fired her shotgun gauntlet once more, clearly struggling to do it with one arm still clinging onto the Heiress's leg. But her tenacity and battle cry fueled her strength, allowing her to punch fast enough to create the force necessary to push themselves upward into the sky.

"HEYAYAYAYAYA!" She yelled while the two of them flew upward as if bouncing off an invisible trampoline floating in mid-air.

And finally, after unloading all of her rounds – the two of them were high enough in the air to see the top of the ledge, to see Ruby and Ciel staring back at them in absolute awe.

"NOW, Weiss!" Yang cried. "Your weapon!"

And the Heiress was way ahead of her, already aiming at the ground far in the distance behind Ruby and Ciel. And with a pull of a trigger, her rapier pulled them both away from the ledge at breakneck speed, slamming both of them hard onto the concrete ground. They might have had a pretty sore fall, but at least they were far away from the edge of the airship field at last.

"Yang, Weiss," Ruby hurried over. "You're alright!"

"Go home, Ruby," Yang stood up, dusting herself off, "I mean it! That's a big Nevermore, not something to joke around, not even for me. Best leave it to the professionals. Remember not to panic, Grimm are attracted to negative emotions."

"Don't tell me you actually believe in that pseudo-science. Or perhaps I should say 'urban legend' to be more accurate," said Weiss, to which Yang proceeded to ignore.

"What about you?" Ruby asked her sister.

"Well," Yang smirked. "I still have an exam to finish. I told you, I don't want to reschedule."

"You still wish to fight?" Weiss asked, clinging onto her rapier to push herself up from the ground.

"Of course."

"You are a fool and a bastard," Weiss spat a mouthful of blood to the side. "What kind of Huntress would ignore the people they vow to serve to finish a petty fight?"

"Heh, technically, I'm not a student yet, so I haven't taken the vow," said Yang. "Besides, don't act all high and mighty now. You want this as much as I do. Admit it."

"Hmm… perhaps… but rescheduling is a much wiser option. We will fight again, make no mistake. But not here, not now."

"I don't think so, Heiress. I'm not letting you recover your strength so you can come up with a strategy. Besides, it's in the Valean Constitution. If you leave now, you forfeit the fight, no official rematch, and that'll make you a coward."

Weiss glared intensely at the smirking blonde.

"I know what you're trying to do, getting on my nerves," Weiss said.

"We can fight again after you forfeit, but it won't be on the official record," Yang said, pointing her finger. "And what would any of those fights mean if it's not official?"

"Then let the record show it here," Weiss cleared her throat. "I do not wish to fight you any longer, not because I fear your Ability. On the contrary, I do not wish to fight anymore because I know exactly how to defeat you now."

Yang raised her eyebrow, her smile broken in an instant. And in the distant far the shriek of the Nevermores grew ever louder as they reached closer. The veteran students and soldiers were now swarming the airship field, with many of them hauling forth massive cannons the size of a small building. Setting them up near the edge of the floating school, while making preparations needed to load in Dust ammunitions and aim them at the giant bird.

"What did you just say?" Yang muttered.

But Weiss simply responded by reaching inside her pouch, bringing forth the rest of her Ice Dust crystals and then proceeded to smash them straight into the ground. The Dust burst forth into brilliant shards of ice which were all quickly crushed under her combat heels, much to Yang's confusion.

"I am so confident," said Weiss, "that I won't even need any more reflective surfaces to defeat you." She then raised her sword, aiming it right at the blonde, "this will be my final attack. And it will decide this fight, right here, right now… if you wish to proceed."

Yang smiled, confidently calling her bluff, and slammed both her fists together.

"It doesn't really matter if you know what my Ability is, I suppose," said Yang. "Because I'll let you in on a little secret. A side effect of my weapon's Ability is a little built-in function that stores kinetic energy. Long story short, the more I block with these gauntlets, the more energy is built up. And now… I can't wait to dish it all back out again. I doubt even the biggest Ursa could survive my Ember Celica once it's fully stored up."

"Let's just get this over with."

And for some reason, Weiss's sudden indifference with the fight began to annoy Yang. That fire in her cold eyes earlier, the eyes of one who was willing to even murder. That fire had been tempered somehow, and for some reason Yang did not like that at all.

"Hey, what are you kids doing?" One of the veterans shouted as he was loading his shoulder mounted gatling gun. "Get out of here right now! Can't you see that giant bird coming right at us?"

Ruby instantly responded by unraveling her Crescent Rose and planting it right onto the hard concrete, aiming the sniper right at the approaching flock of Grimm.

"Go inside, Ciel," said Ruby. "It's not safe."

"I can't," she said, shaking in her boots. "The trial by combat is rooted deep in the Constitution. Once it's sanctioned, I must see it through to the end."

"Then get behind me, hold onto my hood. It's Mistralian Leather, quite sturdy. Once the trial is over, run for your life. I'll cover you."

Just as the shriek of the black monsters pierced all their ears, flapping their wings bringing northern winds and furious storms, Weiss and Yang dashed forth towards each other once more. One holding her sword in a straight line, stabbing forth like an arrow. The other, winding up her fist, prepared to deliver a punch oozing with kinetic energy, enough to melt an entire boulder.

And there, underneath the loud clash of metal that echoed across the entire school – the metal gauntlet began to catch on fire, overheating from the sheer amount of energy being stored inside. And with one single decisive swing…

Weiss's Myrtenaster was snapped in two.

"HA! I WIN!" Yang shouted, giddy as she heard the loud metal snap, the snap that coincided alongside the explosion of the large cannons, decimating the large clouds and the storms brewing up behind the wings of the beasts.

But as Weiss was taking a dive, Yang caught a glimpse of her face. And to her shock, the Heiress was not devastated from this loss, not a broken expression anywhere to be found. Instead her steely eyes remained strong. Bloodied by the bruises, but still resolved.

"I was right about you," Weiss said. "You really are an undisciplined lazy brute. Your Ability is a perfect representation of that."

"What?"

"I told you, didn't I? I figured out your Ability," Weiss pointed at Yang's gauntlets. "I realized when I was striking you with my sword, and when you deflected those shotgun pellets – that you didn't actually deflect those strikes, at least not by yourself. A combination of Gravity Dust and electromagnetism engineering allow you to draw in any incoming projectile or strike towards your gauntlets instead of your own body, essentially creating a perfect automatic blocking technique – the perfect defense. And not only do you draw in metal objects towards yourself, but the Ability is also strong enough to attract the iron in people's bodies, the iron in my blood, just enough to misalign my strikes, pulling my limbs and aim off course."

Weiss's confidence was beginning to scare Yang. The Heiress continued:

"You want to keep on being braindead on the battlefield with this rudimentary strategy of yours? Be my guest. I'll say this, you're probably going to be a great Huntress, killing a lot of Grimm. You might even score wins over some very inexperienced Huntsmen, bandits and so on. But I – am – a – Schnee. And that means something."

Glancing down on her arms, Yang had only now noticed the black gravity glyph forming on her gauntlets, now all out of energy. The glyph spun rigorously, and looking up to the giant bird from far away, an expression of pure shock struck Yang's face. By the other side of the airship field however, the soldiers shouted out their war cry, firing their cannons to deafening effect, landing a direct hit on all the Grimm. The smaller Nevermores disintegrated instantaneously the moment the projectile made contact. The giant Nevermore on the other hand persisted for a short while even as it was hit with a barrage of cannon fire.

But despite its massive size, it too was quickly brought down by the might of the Valean army. And as the giant corpse of the monster descended from the sky, Yang finally saw the giant black glyph attached on the colossal bird, spinning as the body flew directly at where she was standing.

"You want to make a weapon that can do all the work for you while you reap all the reward?" Weiss pointed her finger as she quickly got out of the way of the falling bird, "Go ahead. I just hope you're strong enough to take the impact."

"YOU SON OF A…" Yang shouted, scrambling to take her gauntlets off, only to realize how tight the gravity glyph was holding it all in together. Not even the strength of a crowbar could pry them from her arms now.

For the first time in her life, Yang was starting to get a taste of her own medicine. To feel what it was like to be on the receiving end of Ember Celica's frustratingly invincible Ability. She tried desperately to move out of the way, only to feel the immense pull of the gravity glyph spinning furiously, not letting her go an inch, and in fact, pulling her closer and closer the more she resisted.

The giant bird made massive damage crashing onto the school ground, completely destroying the front section of the reception office and welcoming center all in one go, shattering the concrete for it to fly everywhere. It looked as though the entire hall was cleared out of any and all civilians, which was fortunate.

What was unfortunate however was the lack of even a scream coming from Yang as the collision occurred. It all happened so fast. The giant bird was bleeding profusely, and its gooey disintegration process had already begun taking place. It seemed like the Grimm died the moment the cannons fired its full might towards its torso. The storm was clearing, and the wind was calming down.

* * *

"YANG!" Ruby shouted, as she navigated herself through the maze of thick black blood and falling debris.

The young burly blonde sat there beneath the pile of shattered stone pillars, coughing up blood as she bathed in her own wounds and the black blood of the giant Grimm that had landed right on top of her. It was a miracle she managed to survive something so horrible. But Ruby knew her sister was a tough nut to crack. She still let out a huge sigh of relief regardless, going up to hold her sister in her arms, not caring about the black liquid staining her cape and her skirt.

"Ruby…" Yang struggled to even whisper, "you… you… haven't gone home?"

"Please, Yang" Ruby began bursting into tears. "You have nothing more to prove. Please, I beg of you. I… I don't want to lose you. This… this is not okay."

"She's right, you know?" Weiss said, standing over the brutally injured blonde. "This is only the beginning of our journey to becoming Huntresses. It will only get more difficult from here on out. This includes our mission to catch Roman Torchwick."

"Here to gloat, your highness?" Yang looked up as her forehead began to burst.

In the distance, behind the wall of crumbling rubble, the veterans were gathering the injured few who happened to be caught in the giant crash. Seemed like the vast majority of those injured were Huntsmen or students. Ciel was over near the medic who was tending to the wounded, being questioned by some of the veterans and fourth year students. It was clear she didn't like to be detained by the questioning, what with her eyes wandering about, wondering where Yang and Weiss were. Fortunately, none of the giant cannons were damaged by the Grimm attack, so now all that was left was to retrieve them and store them away.

"Listen," said Weiss. "That secretary woman doesn't know about the outcome of the fight, yet. So I'll make you a deal…"

"What?" Both Ruby and Yang cried out.

"You can tell the woman that you won the fight. That way you get to pass your trial, or your exam, or whatever that was, and get accepted into Beacon."

"And the catch?"

Weiss responded by turning her back, looking forth into the distance with her eyes of steel:

"I want you to remember this day for the rest of your years here at Beacon, either in a private room in a dorm or during class. I want you to remember the one person who defeated you. The one who outsmarted your lazy invincible Ability. And that goes for you, too, Ruby. I will be the one to bring Roman to justice, mark my words. But… if… if I were to die… it would be the utmost shame to have an undisciplined brute like you to claim the credit in my place. An undisciplined but heroic dreamer like Ruby here, I can allow. But not you – not you."

"Arrogant… bitch," Yang muttered under her breath.

By the corner of the crumbling hall they were in, the television lied on the floor with its screen cracked like eggshells. The news report was still on:

_[… zzz… as local Huntsmen joined in on the scene to assist the relief efforts after the vicious Grimm attack on Beacon Academy airship fields. Lisa Lavender will soon to be live in an attempt to take comments from Headmaster Oz… what's that? Come again… zz… bzzt… I just have word from my superiors. This just in, BREAKING NEWS – Crime Lord Godfather Roman Torchwick has just turned himself into the authorities, I repeat, Godfather Torchwick has turned himself into the authorities… bzztzz…]_

* * *

**AN: So Yang's Semblance in the canon show I actually feel is kinda... meh. It isn't as creative as it could be, and doesn't really offer any new potential for strategic combat. It's honestly kind of braindead.**

**So in this chapter I want to modify that a bit. Yang is still sorta braindead in terms of strategy in this AU, but her Ability here is a little more specific, in that it is engineered from Gravity Dust and uses forms of electromagnetism to manipulate bullets, swords, etc. towards her gauntlet for her to basically automatically parry without putting much effort into it. Each parry also builds up kinetic energy in her gauntlet, enough for her to dish back the damage she received without actually being injured. This special form of magnetism I feel would create potential for some great strategic fights. It's also kinda symbolic of Yang's character in this AU, in how she represents strength, and steel, iron, etc. are powerful, sturdy and all that.**

**Tiny nuggets of world building, in this world it isn't actually confirmed whether negative emotions attract Grimm, but rather it's considered an "urban legend" or a pseudo science at best. I feel like this would make the world building and the Grimm a lot more interesting, and a lot more mysterious, because we do not know everything about the Grimm.**


	7. Death of a Good Man

**Chapter 7: Death of a Good Man**

"Yang…" Ruby sat in her chair, poking at her sister's cheek, "are you still mad at me?"

Yang responded by folding her arms, and turning her face away while sitting on her bed pouting. It was worth wondering whether she would've gotten into this mess in the first place if she hadn't run into Ruby and her little girlfriend Weiss. The layers of bandages folding all over her forehead made it feel like there was an anvil placed on her neck. The soft pillow from behind did help cushion it, making it feel much more bearable.

"Come on, Yang, please talk to me… I have comics…"

"Ruby, I'm not going to let you sweet talk and bribe me again, not this time."

"Aw…"

Yang paused briefly.

"What issue is that?"

"Oh? It's the latest Yellow Jacket issue. They even have it in hardback, can you believe it?"

"Holy crap, really? Gimme, gimme!" Yang yanked it out of Ruby's grasps, "I've been waiting for the final battle all month. How is she going to beat Dark Smoke? I bet by punching a bunch of times. HEYA!"

Ruby burst out laughing, facepalming herself:

"You have got to stop quoting these comics. You're embarrassing me."

"Shh! Quiet you two," Weiss cried out, holding the remote for the hospital's television, turning the volume up to max.

_[… a shocking turn of events unfolded during the attack on Beacon Academy as renowned crime lord Godfather Roman Torchwick inexplicably turned himself into the authority without any prompting. Local police forces are doing their best to suppress the massive riots and protests being held outside the facility Torchwick is being held. It is expected the crime lord will be transported to a maximum-security prison for further questioning and interrogation in hopes of bringing down the Torchwick family's current underground operation. Councilman Henry Marigold here to give us more details on the situation. Go ahead, Henry, thank you for coming onto our program…]_

_[… well, thank you for having me. And it's true. It is a delicate situation with all the protests going on all around the police precinct. These are passionate cries from the people who were and are being wronged by these heinous criminal activities, these underground crime networks, the loan sharks, the territories. And make no mistake about it, we will do everything in our power to bring all of it to justice, as directly ordered by the President himself. You've seen how vigilant our President has been in response to the pirates coming from the southern sea…]_

_[And you're saying that the President will take swift measures to ensure this criminal is to be brought to the court? And that a just sentence is to be handed out to the appropriate party?]_

_[… well, what I would suggest to you and all the viewers on your program is to tune into this afternoon when President Adamantine makes an appearance at Fort Ferro to give a speech concerning the current situation. These things will still take time, we still have a lengthy process we need to go through. Otherwise, this country would be in ruins.]_

_[And rightly so. Thank you so much, Councilman Marigold for being on the program…]_

"So that's it, huh?" Said Yang. "It's over then? Just like that?"

"Yang…" Ruby reached out to her sister.

"Maybe… maybe this won't be so bad after all," said Yang. "At least all of his operation will be put to rest. I wanted to be the one to ask him about… her whereabouts. But I guess… I guess if the police are opening an investigation, then there'd be very few secrets Roman could hide. Including everything and everybody he knows."

"Our work here isn't done," Weiss said decisively. "Roman has his lieutenants, there is a hierarchy and a system in place here that goes incredibly deep. This is far from over."

"Aw, come on, cheer up, Weiss," said Ruby. "And let's celebrate these small victories, one day at a time."

"You call this a victory, I say this is a scheme."

"Huh?"

"Don't you find it suspicious?" Said Weiss. "That the man here just suddenly turns himself in out of the blue? _Especially_ after how you of all people exposed him to the world just a mere few days ago."

"Now that you mention it…" Ruby tapped her chin.

"We must entertain the possibility of this being a massive con," said Weiss. "He's playing something. I just know it."

"Try switching to a different station," Yang pointed her finger. "I think there might be a live broadcast right on the scene on channel six."

Weiss nodded her head and pressed the button to change the channel. Unfortunately, they unexpectedly dove straight into a heated debate between a news anchor and his guest.

_[… let me break it down for you, Melone. Because this is absolutely unprecedented that a model citizen of Vale is getting a national level threat priority in place of actual criminals and terrorists like that of the White Fang…]_

_[… I wouldn't exactly call a mobster, head of one of the crime families, a model citizen.]_

_[… Fact of the matter is, Roman Torchwick has been an absolute boon to the economy and local communities. With his casinos on the side providing good jobs for good people, helping unemployment rate, while himself personally out there to help in relief efforts for victims decimated by Grimm attacks and other natural disasters. Compare that to the White Fangs, many of whom aren't even citizens of this country, and yet are still terrorizing its people and their businesses. So I ask, where is the justice in that? Why are we going out of our way to condemn a man who has actively tried to help these communities defend themselves against terrorism? And another thing…]_

_[… well it seems like that's all the time we have for today, thank you for coming onto our program and…]_

"Can you believe these people?" Said Yang. "Defending a criminal? What has this world gone to?"

"I mean… to be fair, Roman did help out those people, did he not? Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending him here, but… there are families out there who are probably thankful for their protection."

"The mob protection business is a nasty one," said Weiss. "Besides, he's only doing so to help his own self-image, Ruby. The goal of these mobsters is to create this romanticized view of themselves, to make them seem like these noble lawless gunslingers. But they're criminals. And that's a fact."

"I suppose… yeah…"

_[… wait, hold on… I'm getting something…]_

The news anchor unexpectedly pulled away, listening into his earpiece, which caught Weiss's eyes.

_[We have just got word from our reporter Viola Grey now on the scene of the protest, it looks like she's managed to get some footage of the crime lord being escorted from his holding cell as we speak. Take it away, Viola…]_

The news report immediately cut to a scene right in front of the police station, hundreds of people scrambling from behind the steel barricades and officers blocking them from overrunning the premise. And at the front there the reporter leaned forward over the chaos with a microphone in her hand – aiming it directly at the crime lord being hauled away in handcuffs from the facility.

_[… Mister Torchwick, care to comment on the police investigation on your underground operations? Will you be taking full responsibility for your colleagues' actions? Or would you like to start giving the people some names?]_

_[HEY! Get back!]_

And to everyone's surprise – Roman replied:

_[I will not be answering any questions right now. But let it be known – there are families being held against their will, and they will continue to suffer unless you listen to my demands.]_

_[And what would those demands be?]_

_[Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to take a step back.]_

And Roman responded with a smirk:

_[Bring me the Red Rider girl, the one on the news. Bring me Ruby Rose.]_

And thus, the very moment those words were uttered from his lips, Valean police forces vigorously barged into the hospital, armed to the teeth with rifles and armors. In the front leading them all was the man himself, standing there in his old olive uniform and silver medals pinned on his chest – General Ozpin.

* * *

"So much for retirement I suppose," Ozpin joked. "I talked to the President, and he specifically asked me to open up this old war horse. I haven't worn this since I fought pirates in the South all those years ago."

Ruby and Ozpin sat there across each other within the armored vehicle, slowly making its way towards their destination, the maximum-security prison Fort Ferro. Accompanying them were two police officers, sitting in the front of the vehicle behind a wall of glass and some metal bars. Ruby suspected this truck to be used often to transport prisoners, or in some other cases, high priority government officials.

"I can't believe the President went through with it just like that," Ruby snapped her fingers. "Why would he allow me, some civilian girl, to be involved in this high-profile case?"

"It was mostly under my suggestion," said Ozpin. "But Orry had considered the possibility ever since Roman turned himself in. He's a very smart man, he knows you are a high value target for the Torchwicks. And it is a delicate situation, with Sumire being under great tension between southern pirates and Grimm attacks from Mt. Glenn, he figured that's what Roman meant in that interview."

"I don't follow."

"It's likely Roman wasn't actually referring to the Torchwicks literally holding these families as hostages," Ozpin explained. "Roman has always cared about his own reputation, always positioning himself to take credit for these relief efforts. What he most likely meant was that if the President were to send troops down to Sumire to help the situation, these families will surely be put in danger by the Grimm or pirates. Not because the Torchwicks handed the families over to the monsters on purpose, but more because they nudged them there. Not fully throwing them under the bus, but just a light tap."

"But then why would he make it seem like his crime family are the ones holding these families hostage?" Ruby asked. "Wouldn't it help his reputation if he actually comes clean and cooperate with the President?"

"It's a power move, Ruby. He wants the President and the people to know he's in charge. And he technically never explicitly said the Torchwicks are the ones directly keeping these families in their grasps. I think that was on purpose, to have the media fight over itself on what he actually meant in his little interview."

"But still, his reputation…"

"It seems like he's perfectly content with his family getting mixed reactions. He doesn't need to be a saint, but he doesn't have to be a demon either."

"Let me ask you this then, Professor. Why don't you go in there instead of me? Why are we even complying to his demands?"

"You know this man, yes? You've been following him and tracking his movements for a long time. You know how he seemingly possesses certain… abilities shall we call it, despite being a seemingly normal human with little combat training. He's a magician, and the Torchwick hierarchy goes deep. It's possible he's communicating with his goons right now as we speak, perhaps by coded messages through the news stations. Every appearance on television is worth something, and now that he has all of Vale's eyes on him, he can definitely still communicate. Make no mistake, this whole stunt is no doubt calculated on his part – and Orry knows this. Orry won't take unnecessary risks unless he has to, one of those risks is wasting efforts and resources sending troops down there anyway to go on a wild goose chase. Roman is slippery, and that goes for the rest of his goons, they can easily relocate themselves and the families if the need arises. To Orry there is no shame in complying with a criminal's demands, especially when said criminal is already locked up somewhere."

"You seem rather close to the President," Ruby grinned.

"Ah, yes. Him and I, we go way back. I know Orry, and I know how he thinks."

"I just hope he's right about this. About letting me in there alone with him, with no camera, no escort."

"The President knows all about your strengths and weaknesses, too. I told him all about it, after all. Just follow the plan, and you'll do fine."

* * *

Fort Ferro was one of the most powerful prisons in all of Vale, a towering building surrounded by two separate circles of walls, with each circle spanning one and half miles away from one another. Thus, in a hypothetical prison break, in order to escape, one must be able to run this entire length, passing two impenetrable concrete walls to reach the other side. It was often impossible to conduct business with the prison without the aid of transport vehicles of some kind. In addition to the absurd length of these grassy fields, there seemed to also be booby traps lying everywhere across the fields. Land minds perhaps, or just simple tripwires or bear traps.

The facility was a three-story building, famous for housing the most deprived and disgusting scum mother nature could spit out from the earth. Even the monsters and animals created by Spring would be horrified of how far these beasts would go. Some of them were literal beasts as well, as the facility was often in partnerships to science laboratories who aimed to study the creatures of Grimm. So, housing some of those monsters (the ones small enough to be contained) in this massive maximum security prison made sense.

Entering through into the front door alone gave Ruby an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia. But more alarming however was the map of the building's layout smacking right into her eyes the moment she stepped through, being escorted by the other guards.

As it turned out, this wasn't exactly a three-story building, but instead a five-story one, with two additional floors being built underground, making the facility much more intricate and complex. No doubt to discourage any prison break attempt.

But of course, Ruby wasn't exactly here as a tourist, so she never really managed to get a good look at the place, never an opportunity to even meet the faces of the other prisoners there. The prison guards and police officers escorted her straight down towards the elevator, and they were descending straight to the bottom floor. No doubt the most secure place in the whole facility. Or perhaps that was just merely where their interrogation room was.

Just as Roman demanded, Ruby was to enter the interrogation room alone. As such Ozpin opted to stay behind in the armored vehicle outside the building.

Once the guards escorted her through multiple corridors and hallways, many of them began stepping back and away from the group the closer they were to the final destination. Ruby was soon to be by her lonesome self. She would've definitely felt more at ease if she had her Crescent Rose with her.

But it was all part of the plan, and she needed to stick to it.

Once they arrived at the final corridor, the last of the guard pointed her down to the metal door down the hall. It was instructed that she was to be in there for no more than twenty minutes, according to the agreement between Roman and the President himself. The room will be a square concrete soundproof room with no windows, no glass screens, no cameras of any kind. Only a single table and two chairs inside, and of course, the crime lord himself Godfather Torchwick.

Ruby nodded her head, and proceeded down the hall. Still not feeling entirely confident, she readjusted her gloves and tightened up her cloak to make herself feel more at ease. She knew for a fact she would be safe against this crime lord. He was unarmed, and she was trained extensively in combat for most of her life.

So why…

Why did the twinge of fear still linger within?

The answer to that question will have to wait, because the moment she flung the door wide open was the moment her eyes laid upon the most absurd sight she had ever seen. Her face turned red from the blushing, matching the color of her hood, and Roman Torchwick just sat there with this cavalier smile, unconcerned of the fact that he was buck naked.

"WHOA!" Ruby cried, covering her face. "What in Seasons' names? What? Wh… why? How?"

"Apologies for the… inconvenience, little Red," Roman smirked. "But as you can clearly see, I am not armed. You could say that I should be arrested for indecent exposure… but… eh, a little late for that I suppose. Not to worry, for there is a thin layer of tissue paper covering my privates. They say they do not trust me with even so much as a towel. And I don't blame them."

"I can't believe I have to deal with this," said Ruby, still partially covering her eyes. Only now seeing how he was handcuffed right down onto the surface of the table.

"Firstly, before anything else. Have you complied to my demands? How do I know we're not being watched?"

Ruby stared into his devilish green eyes, knowing beforehand this was coming. So she reached beneath into her grey shirt and pulled out not just one, but two hidden recording devices that were expertly strapped onto her body. Pulling on the wires and tiny microphones, she yanked it out, slammed them onto the ground and stomped on them as thoroughly as she could.

"The second one is there as a courtesy of the President, in case you have questions after I pull out the first one," Ruby explained. "Or so I was told. They spent five thousand Lien on the equipment just so I can smash them to bits. So rest assured, the President is being earnest."

"Ah, good ol' Orry," Roman shrugged, "then I guess that's good enough for me. Have a seat, Red. It's been too long, too long I say."

"We met just a few days ago," Ruby said as she pulled back the chair.

"How's your dad, Little Red?" Roman smirked. "I heard he had to bail you out of jail after the… incident."

"He's a smart man, Mister Torchwick. He knows what I've gotten myself involved in."

"And he approves?"

"That's none of your business. All you need to know is that he knows how to lay low from your goons and stay out of sight."

"I am shocked you think so little of me, Red. I don't want to hurt your father. The same goes with that sister of yours, too. Going after your father of all people would just put a massive dent in my organization. I know how strong he is."

"Then… what do you want exactly? Why did you call me all the way out here?"

"I just want to talk is all. Can't old friends meet up and chat once in a shattered blue moon? You did after all… heed my warning, last time we met, did you not?"

"I heard what you said, yes. You threatened me with your quote unquote invincibility. Whatever that means."

"And I still mean every word I said. And that means we're friends now, yeah? Friends must challenge each other, push one another to improve, to our limits. Do you have any friends, Red?"

Ruby was taken aback by this, but continued to answer earnestly:

"Not many at the moment. School hasn't exactly started, yet."

"That's a shame. Because I had a lot of friends. Do you know Daiyamon? Mikado S. Daiyamon is his full name."

Ruby shook her head.

"Oh? But I thought you would know him. You sure you don't remember meeting him? After all… you shot him down like a dog on the street, without a care in the world."

Ruby sat there widening her eyes, stunned as Roman's cavalier smile disappeared entirely. Replaced with a dark sparkling resolve.

"Those men were good men," he said. "And they were my friends."

"You… you guys are a bunch of criminals."

"Is that what you think is all we are? Do you think all we do is murder, steal, drug deal, and all sorts of other depravity the media often portrays in movies? I'll have you know Daiyamon was an actual veteran who was unfairly discharged from Sumire with the highest dishonor."

"Why? What did he do?"

"One simple reason – he disobeyed a direct order from a superior officer, because he did not want to bear arms. He joined the military as a combat medic, but it was common practice for medics to train in weaponry for self-defense purposes – I'm sure you're well aware. He was a pacifist, a member of the Spring branch of the Church, who was taught that taking a life was immoral. And what was his reward for following his righteous teachings? A life full of debt, incapable of applying housings, for jobs, with his wife divorcing him, making him nearly want to kill himself out of grief."

Ruby remained silent, listening on to Roman's somber expression.

"He was in a bad place before we took him in," he said. "We treated him like family and…" Roman sighed, "he treated me like a brother."

"You say he was a good friend of yours, and yet you had no qualms in placing bombs inside his body?"

"You think I would've actually killed any of my men on purpose?" He leaned forward, almost insulted. "The bombs weren't for my own sake, they were there to make sure the cops or the Huntsmen couldn't trace their genes back to their families. I would never force them to work for… tch… they were my friends."

"Justify it all you want, it doesn't change a single thing."

"You're right… it doesn't. Because those men were good people. They helped protect the cities from Grimm and pirate invasions. Something your friend the President doesn't actually want you to know. Yeah, I said it, it was never just because of the military that Vale is able to prosper and be safe. Those councilmen in Orry's office, those yes-men, they won't admit it, but they've made their fair share of collaborations with the mobsters of this kingdom."

"No…"

"That's the truth."

"Why… why would you or any of your goons want to protect this kingdom at all?"

"Because this is our home, too. These people have families here, friends and loved ones to protect. And fact of the matter is you murdered them all with that goddamn sniper rifle of yours."

Ruby's brain almost instinctively shut down from the numb sensation penetrating her mind. She had never paused on these kinds of things before. But now… to hear it coming from a crime lord of all people…

Roman shook his head, sighing:

"I'm not here to pin this all on you, Little Red. That's not why I brought you here."

"Then what's the real reason?"

"I brought you here because that Ozpin friend of yours couldn't help himself but recruit another young talent to mentor under his wing. It's obvious that's what he's doing with you."

"How did you…"

"I know a lot of things, Red. I have eyes and ears everywhere. And from here I can see your optimism clear as day. It's the exact type that Professor Oz is always looking for. That's what I want to warn you about, getting yourself involved with Oz. We've been playing this game for a long time now. I know his moves."

"You think this is a game?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. So I am giving you my third and final warning. Step away now before it is too late."

"I… I…"

"Don't believe me? Go look outside. Our twenty minutes is up anyway, so go. Go outside and see what I am capable of."

Alarm bells began to ring violently inside Ruby's mind, flashing multiple red flags everywhere. But she could not understand the reason why. Why?

Why did it feel as if Roman was still as powerful as ever even with shackles and chains restraining him? What exactly made him so dangerous?

Ruby feared that once she stepped outside, she would find her answer.

And that was probably the worst part.

Regardless, she stood up and turned her back, violently swinging the heavy metal door open and sprinted outside. To her absolute shock, the guards who escorted her here were nowhere to be seen. Something was wrong.

She dashed forward to where she first entered, walking up a small flight of stairs before reaching the elevator. She noticed that it wasn't just one or two guards who were gone – it was all of them.

She smashed the buttons on the elevator, anxious and restless at how slow the door was closing. But fortunately, the upward travel speed was fast enough to get there in time.

Dashing out into the front entrance, and she could see the soldiers and guards all in chaos around the armored vehicle. With Professor Ozpin popping his head out of the back of the truck, staring towards in the distant walls where they came from.

"Professor!" Ruby called out, running towards him.

"Ruby, thank Spring, you're here, where were you?"

"What do you mean? I was only gone for twenty minutes."

"Twenty minutes?" One of the soldiers cried out, "The prison guards have been trying to keep the crowds at the entrance in order since noon. It's mayhem out there."

"Ruby," said Ozpin, "it's the afternoon."

"WHAT?"

"EVERYBODY! Check your scroll! Look up the Presidential speech."

They all immediately complied and pulled up the news report, having it stream on their scrolls. And to their absolute horror was the blurry video footage of the President falling over to his knees behind the podium as he was giving his afternoon speech. With the headline of the news running beneath in massive bold letters:

WHO SHOT PRESIDENT ADAMANTINE?

* * *

**AN: I'm just going to say it, the Ruby vs Cinder "rivalry" (if you can even call it that) in the canon show is pretty trash. The two barely know each other, and are only really rivals out of circumstances. The best types of rivals are those that oppose each other on a thematic level, either due to their history when compared to another or due to ideological differences. Roman is, imo, the better rival for Ruby. A young idealistic hero versus an old jaded criminal. A criminal chess master with little combat training versus a bold warrior who fights from the heart. That's the dynamic/duality I want between these two. Kind of like the duality between Superman and Lex Luthor, or the Joker and Batman. Both the villains in this case are not as physically powerful as the heroes, but they are incredibly intelligent, and that's what makes them dangerous. I think it would be very interesting if Roman was to be the same type of character.**

**Small worldbuilding nugget: the news media during volume 3 in particular was always sort of only there to serve as exposition machines. So what I'm doing in this chapter and throughout the story is use the news and the press to express the cultural values of the people of Vale, at least in an extent more detailed than the way the canon show often uses the news.**


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